Advances in transmetalation reactions originated from organozirconium compounds

Transmetalation is a fundamental reaction in organometallic chemistry. It provides common and useful methods for preparing various organo-transition metal complexes, which are either used as reagents or catalyst in organic synthesis. Organozirconium complexes have attracted considerable attention owing to their fascinating structural features and unique ZrC bonding. As the booming development of the organozirconium chemistry, transmetalation of organozirconium with other metallic reagents afforded various new types of organometallic complexes, which showed a remarkable advantage in modern organic synthesis. In this review, we would like to summarize the typical examples of transmetalation reactions that originated from organozirconium compounds, which mainly include organic species or ligands from organozirconocenes to p-block elements and transition-metals. In addition, transmetalation reactions beyond the organozirconocenes system, such as zirconium carbene complexes, zirconium pincer complexes, and arylzirconium complexes would be also introduced. Transmetalation reactions that originated from organozirconium included (i) Direct transfer; (ii) Tandem transfer; (iii) Catalytic transfer.