Nucleophilic Iron Catalysis in Transesterifications: Scope and Limitations

The ester bond is one of the most common structural motifs found in nature. Apart from the condensation between an acid and an alcohol, transesterifications represent another mechanistic alternative for the preparation of this compound class. The present paper summarizes our most recent investigations in this field, using nucleophilic iron complexes as catalysts for transesterifications under neutral conditions. This new type of metal catalyst complements the existing methodologies, which rely on Lewis acidic metal complexes. Investigations on scope and limitations, stereochemical course, and chemoselectivities will be presented.