Introduction to Volume 1, and Instructions for the Use of this Book and its Indexes

Abstract

The first part of this series deals with the preparation and reactivity of sp²-polar organometallic intermediates. Although particularly the prefix sp² may be subject to criticism, we propose this definition for metal compounds in which one can imagine the replacement of an sp²-hydrogen atom in an olefmic, allenic, cumulenic, aromatic or heteroaromatic compound by a metal atom. During the preparation of this volume we have frequently consulted the reviews by Gilman and Morton [4]; Mallan and Bebb [5]; Gschwend and Rodriguez [1] and the books of Schlosser [3] and Wakefield [2]. We had to make some selection from the vast number of metallation and functionalization reactions reported in literature. Much relevant polar organometallic chemistry has been carried out on the basis of relatively cheap commercially available substrates, e.g. furan, thiophene, a number of benzene derivatives and ethyl vinyl ether. Satisfactory procedures have been developed for starting compounds, e.g. 1,3-thiazole derivatives, 1-methylcyclopropene and alkyl vinyl sulfides. These are also included in this volume. Many of the procedures in our book are a stage in the development of more ideal concepts and have been preceded by less satisfactory experiments or complete failures. We found it useful to describe these attempts also, as far as they seem rational.