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Tamed Tigers: Stabilization of Reactive Carbenes
Author(s) -
Albrecht Martin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.200800426
Subject(s) - reactive intermediate , tautomer , carbene , chemistry , matrix isolation , formaldehyde , computational chemistry , photochemistry , stereochemistry , molecule , catalysis , organic chemistry
Taming wild carbenes: Following previous achievements in characterizing free carbenes—long considerered as curiosities and intermediates too reactive to be isolated—Schreiner and coworkers succeeded in stabilizing hydroxymethylene (see picture), the simplest of all oxycarbenes, by matrix isolation. This carbene gradually rearranges into its formaldehyde tautomer by a barrierless tunnelling process.