Organoselenium Chemistry

Abstract

Organoselenium chemistry has been established as a valuable research area in synthetic and medicinal chemistry. After the discovery of the selenoxide elimination reaction in the early 1970s, organoselenium reagents achieved great success in organic synthesis including asymmetric synthesis. More commonly, synthetic transformations such as selenenylation, selenocyclization, and 2,3‐sigmatropic rearrangements have been successfully achieved using these reagents under mild reaction conditions. The application of these reagents in catalysis makes them more suitable reagents in organic synthesis. Several books, book chapters, and review articles have been published to explain the utility of organoselenium reagents in synthesis. This article highlights the application of organoselenium reagents in organic synthesis including asymmetric synthesis.