Syllabus
Week 1 Formalisms including the general properties of dative and covalent ligands, the properties of the metal (oxidation state), and metal‐ligand complexes (electron‐counting, the 18‐electron rules). Bonding and structural considerations.
Week 2 Organometallic reaction mechanisms, including ligand substitution processes, oxidative addition/reductive elimination, migratory insertion and σ‐hydride elimination, transmetallation, nucleophilic attack on ligands coordinated to transition metals, electrophilic attack on transition metal coordinated ligands.
Week 3 Synthetic applications of complexes containing metal‐carbon σ‐bonds. Transition metalcatalyzed coupling reaction.
Week 4 Synthetic applications of complexes containing metal‐carbon σ‐bonds. Transition metalcatalyzed coupling reaction and synthetic applications.
Week 5 Synthetic applications of complexes containing metal‐carbon σ‐bonds. Transition metalmediated coupling reaction and synthetic applications.
Week 6 Formation and synthetic applications of complexes containing metal‐carbon σ‐bonds. Catalytic C‐H functionalization.
Week 7 Synthetic applications of complexes containing metal‐carbon σ‐bonds. Catalytic C‐H functionalization and synthetic application.
Week 8 Activation of allylic electrophiles by transition metals – Allylic substitution
Week 9 Activation of allylic electrophiles by transition metals – Allylic substitution and synthetic applications
Week 10 Metathesis of olefins and alkynes.
Week 11 The chemistry of transition metal alkene, alkyne, diene, and dienyl complexes.
Week 12 Review Session
Annotation
This course will familiarize students with the basics of transition metal chemistry (formalisms, electron counting, and bonding) and provide a practical introduction to the mechanisms of organometallic reactions. The chemistry of pi‐alkylmetal complexes, and transition metal alkene, alkyne, arene, diene, and dienyl complexes will be presented and discussed.
The importance of transition metal‐promoted bond‐forming processes in organic synthesis will be illustrated with examples from the contemporary literature and applications to the synthesis of natural products.