Organoselenium small molecules as catalysts for the oxidative functionalization of organic molecules

Organoselenium chemistry has become an exciting topic in synthetic chemistry and pharmaceuticals in the last few decades. Organoselenium molecules as reagents have been developed only recently for the epoxidation or halogenation of olefins by using peroxides and dihalogens or halogenating reagents, respectively. In the past few years, some reports were available but these did not include a clear vision for the catalytic use of organoselenium molecules and despite important breakthroughs, they signify just the very preliminary stages of a nascent field. This perspective highlights the critical analysis of the challenges, in the past decade, which led to the development of organoselenium compounds and their use as versatile catalysts in organic synthesis towards the oxidation of olefins and C-H bonds. Furthermore, the emphasis here differs from the previous reviews of the field by classifying the various types of catalyses and the diverse strategies employed not only for the oxidation of olefins but also carbon-hydrogen bond for carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation in the synthesis of various heterocyclic molecules by asymmetric induction.