There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Metal-catalyzed enantioselective allylation, which involves the substitution of allylic metal intermediates with a diverse range of different nucleophiles or S(N)2'-type allylic substitution, leads to the formation of C-H, -C, -O, -N, -S, and other bonds with very high levels of asymmetric induction. The reaction may tolerate a broad range of functional groups and has been applied successfully to the synthesis of many natural products and new chiral compounds.

Metal-catalyzed enantioselective allylation in asymmetric synthesis.

2.3.5. Multi-NHCs Linked by Spacers 3568 2.4. The Ag2O Route 3570 2.4.1. Feasibility 3570 2.4.2. Complications 3571 2.4.3. Theoretical Consideration 3572 2.5. Applications 3572 2.5.1. Ag(I)-NHCs in NHC Transfer 3572 2.5.2. Ag(I)-NHCs in Catalysis 3572 2.5.3. Ag(I)-NHCs in Medicine 3572 2.5.4. Ag(I)-NHCs in Nanomaterials 3573 3. Au(I)and Au(III)-NHCs 3573 3.1. Historical Background 3573 3.2. General Synthetic Methods 3573 3.3. Formation of Au(I)and Au(III)-NHCs 3574 3.3.1. Neutral [Au(NHC)L] 3574 3.3.2. Ionic [Au(NHC)L][Anion] 3576 3.3.3. Multinuclear Au(I)-NHCs 3578 3.3.4. Other Classes of Au(I)-NHCs 3578 3.3.5. Au(III)-NHC Complexes 3579 3.4. Applications 3579 3.4.1. Au(I)and Au(III)-NHCs in Catalysis 3579 3.4.2. Au(I)-NHCs in Medicine 3580 4. Cu(I)and Cu(II)-NHCs 3581 4.1. Historical Background 3581 4.2. General Synthetic Methods 3582 4.3. Formation of Cu(I)and Cu(II)-NHCs 3583 4.3.1. Complexes Containing the Cu(NHC)2 Core 3583 4.3.2. [Cu(NHC)(Halide)] 3583 4.3.3. [Cu(NHC)(Ligand)] 3584 4.3.4. Multinuclear Cu(I)and Cu(II)-NHCs 3589 4.4. Catalysis 3591 4.4.1. Past Events 3591 4.4.2. Recent Advancements 3591 5. Photoluminescence 3592 6. Conclusions 3594 7. Abbreviations 3594 8. Acknowledgments 3595 9. References 3595

Coinage Metal−N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes

Catalytic C-C bond-forming multi-component cascade or domino reactions: pushing the boundaries of complexity in asymmetric organocatalysis.

BINOL: A Versatile Chiral Reagent

A Catalytic Enantioselective Access to Optically Active 2-Imidazoline from N-Sulfonylimines and Isocyanoacetates

Cyclic ketones react with (E)-2-nitroallylic acetates in the presence of catalytic pyrrolidine-thiourea, which affords bicyclic skeletons with four or five stereocenters in one single reaction with up to 98 % ee in moderate to high yields. The cooperative effects of both enamine and the Bronsted acid are found to be crucial for the high reactivity and enantioselectivity of this cascade reaction, which is demonstrated by both theoretical calculation and experimental data.

An Organocatalytic Asymmetric Tandem Reaction for the Construction of Bicyclic Skeletons

Novel Bis-N-[2-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenylcarbonyl]-diaminocyclohexane ligands: application in asymmetric allylic alkylation of imino ester with simple allyl carbonate

An efficient synthesis of an array of quinazolin-4(3 H)- ones from anthranilic acid, ortho esters (or formic acid) and amines using Yb(OTf)3 in one-pot under solvent-free conditions is de- scribed. Compared with the classical reaction conditions, this new synthetic method has the advantage of excellent yields (75-99%), shorter reaction time (few minutes) and reusability of the catalyst.

Yb(OTf)3-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Quinazolin-4(3H)-ones from Anthranilic­ Acid, Amines and Ortho Esters (or Formic Acid) in Solvent-Free Conditions

Synthesis, characterization of homoleptic lanthanide amidinate complexes and their catalytic activity for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone

Jie Sun

Papers

A Catalytic Enantioselective Access to Optically Active 2-Imidazoline from N-Sulfonylimines and Isocyanoacetates

An Organocatalytic Asymmetric Tandem Reaction for the Construction of Bicyclic Skeletons

Novel Bis-N-[2-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenylcarbonyl]-diaminocyclohexane ligands: application in asymmetric allylic alkylation of imino ester with simple allyl carbonate

Yb(OTf)3-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Quinazolin-4(3H)-ones from Anthranilic Acid, Amines and Ortho Esters (or Formic Acid) in Solvent-Free Conditions

Synthesis, characterization of homoleptic lanthanide amidinate complexes and their catalytic activity for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone

Jie Sun

Papers

A Catalytic Enantioselective Access to Optically Active 2-Imidazoline from N-Sulfonylimines and Isocyanoacetates

An Organocatalytic Asymmetric Tandem Reaction for the Construction of Bicyclic Skeletons

Novel Bis-N-[2-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenylcarbonyl]-diaminocyclohexane ligands: application in asymmetric allylic alkylation of imino ester with simple allyl carbonate

Yb(OTf)3-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Quinazolin-4(3H)-ones from Anthranilic­ Acid, Amines and Ortho Esters (or Formic Acid) in Solvent-Free Conditions

Synthesis, characterization of homoleptic lanthanide amidinate complexes and their catalytic activity for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone

Yb(OTf)3-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Quinazolin-4(3H)-ones from Anthranilic Acid, Amines and Ortho Esters (or Formic Acid) in Solvent-Free Conditions