Carbene transfer reactions enabled by heterogeneous metal catalysis

Abstract

Carbene transfer reactions are powerful tools for constructing both carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in organic synthesis. While homogeneous catalysts have achieved remarkable success in diverse transformations such as cyclopropanation and X–H insertion, heterogeneous systems offer distinct advantages, including enhanced recyclability, stability, and tuneable selectivity. This review summarizes recent advances in heterogeneous transition-metal-catalyzed carbene transformations, with particular emphasis on catalyst design, mechanistic insights, and synthetic applications.