Amrutha P. Thankachan

A novel and efficient zinc-catalyzed thioetherification of aryl halides

The first zinc-catalysed protocol for the C–S cross-coupling reaction is reported. Zinc catalysis has an undeniable advantage over other catalytic systems as it is non-toxic, and the catalysts are easily available and cheap, with environmentally benign properties. This novel, efficient, palladium- and triphenylphosphine-free protocol yielded a variety of aryl and alkyl sulfides in moderate to excellent yields.

An overview of Zn-catalyzed enantioselective aldol type C–C bond formation

Enantioselective aldol reactions are powerful tools for the creation of carbon–carbon bonds in a stereoselective manner. Several synthetic strategies have been developed for asymmetric aldol reactions; but among these, Zinc-catalyzed protocols for enantioselective aldol reactions attained great significance due to its excellent functional group tolerance. Zinc catalysis has an undeniable significance over other catalytic systems due to its non-toxic, easily available, cheap and environmentally benign properties. This review mainly focuses on the stereoselective aspects of Zn-catalyzed aldol type reactions promoted by enolate chemistry.