Chemistry of organocopper clusters

Abstract

In recent years organocopper compounds have gained an important role in organic synthesis as intermediates in carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. The extreme versatility of organocopper reagents, which often show advantages over the more traditional Grignard or organolithium reagents, has strongly stimulated interest in organocopper chemistry. The organocopper reagents applied in synthetic studies have generally been reacted with the substrate molecule without prior isolation. Studies dealing with the nature and structure of organocopper compounds have received relatively less attention. The susceptibility of the copper-carbon bond to oxidation and hydrolysis as well as the lack of solubility of most organocopper compounds in hydrocarbon solvents have thwarted many attempts at isolating pure compounds. It is only during the past decade that a limited number of organocopper compounds have been isolated in an analytically pure form and subjected to detailed structural studies in the solid state and in solution. As a result our understanding of the nature of organocopper compounds and the pathways by which they react is now beginning to develop (for a recent review see van Koten & Noltes 1982).