Alkane Functionalization by Metal‐Catalyzed Carbene Insertion from Diazo Reagents

The functionalization of carbon–hydrogen bonds by means of the metal-induced insertion of a carbene group from a diazo compound was largely developed for intramolecular processes or activated bonds in the second half of the last century. However, low reactive, highly inert saturated alkanes were scarcely modified with this methodology before 2000. In the last two decades, such substrates have been targeted and catalytic systems have been described to induce high level of activity, regioselectivity, enantioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity. Even the most inert gaseous alkanes have been functionalized with this tactic. In this chapter, the main advances in this area are reviewed, aiming at more researchers to solve the yet existing gaps in the field.