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Iron(iii) porphyrin complexes as metalloradical catalysts

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Experimental and computational studies establish the operation of Fe(iii)-based metalloradical catalysis for the asymmetric cyclopropanation of alkenes with different classes of diazo compounds. The reaction proceeds through a stepwise radical mechanism involving α-Fe(iv)-alkyl and γ-Fe(iv)-alkyl radical intermediates. This work provides a future direction for the development of metalloradical catalysis.

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Fig. 1: Two fundamentally different mechanisms for Fe-catalysed carbene transfer reactions with diazo compounds.

References

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This is a summary of: Lee, W.-C. C. et al. Iron(iii)-based metalloradical catalysis for asymmetric cyclopropanation via a stepwise radical mechanism. Nat. Chem. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01317-8 (2023).

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Iron(iii) porphyrin complexes as metalloradical catalysts. Nat. Chem. 15, 1499–1500 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01318-7

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