Homogeneous Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed C–O Bond Activation

The C-O bond is one of the most important and common chemical bonds and exists widely in the chemicals in nature and the industry. Due to huge reports on C-O bond cleavage and many excellent reviews in this field, this chapter focuses on "inert" C-O bond activation via a transition-metal-catalyzed oxidative addition pathway. It reviews the reactions via Lewis/Brønsted acids catalysis or the "hydrogen-transfer" pathway, as well as those reactions of quite "active" C-O bonds, such as those in allylic esters and orgnao-triflates. To make the content clear, the chapter describes the reactions of inert C-O bond according to the different transition metals. In every subsection of one specific transition metal, different kinds of reactions are introduced in a sequence of formation of C-C and C-X (X = N, B, H, etc.) bonds. The mechanism of oxidative addition is also discussed in detail.