C C Bond Formation Through Heck-Like Reactions

Recent advances in Heck reaction are highlighted according to the types of carbon and heteroatom electrophiles. The last two decades have witnessed significant progress in asymmetric Heck reaction of aryl/alkenyl halides, sulfonates and aryldiazonium salts as in Heck Matsuda reaction. Heck-type reactions that used new types of carbon electrophiles also flourished, examples including unactivated alkyl halides possessing eliminable β-hydrogens, activated alkyl halides (e.g., α-haloesters and α-halomalonates), benzylic, allylic and propargylic electrophiles. Significant progress was also made in Heck reactions using heteroatom electrophiles, such as the innovation of enantioselective Narasaka-Heck cyclization of oxime derivatives, aza-Heck cyclization of hydroxamate derivatives and the emergence of Heck-type reactions of silyl and boryl halides.