Uranium-mediated oxidative addition and reductive elimination

Abstract

Oxidative addition, and its reverse reaction reductive elimination, constitute two key reactions that underpin organometallic chemistry and catalysis. Although these reactions have been known for decades in main group and transition metal systems, they are exceptionally rare or unknown for the f-block. However, in recent years much progress has been made. In this Perspective article, advances in uranium-mediated oxidative addition/reductive elimination, since the point that this research area was initiated in the early-1980s, are summarised. We principally divide the Perspective into two parts of oxidative addition and reductive elimination, along with a separate section concerning reactions where there is no change of uranium oxidation state in reactant and product but the reaction has the formal appearance of a ‘concerted’ reductive elimination/oxidative addition from the perspective of the net result. This body of work highlights that whilst uranium is capable of performing reactions that to some extent conform to traditional reactivity types, novel reactivity that has no counterpart anywhere else can be performed, thus adding to the rich palate of redox chemistry that uranium can mediate.