Hybrid POCZP Aryl Pincer Metal Complexes and their Catalytic Applications

The use of XCX-aryl pincer metal complexes as catalysts started immediately after their discovery in 1976. Nowadays pincer metal complexes are commonly used as a new platform for the development and improvement of known and novel catalytic reactions. More recently, pincer metal complexes with hybrid pincer backbones of the type POCZP (Z = CH2, NH or S) have attracted much attention because of their facile preparation and outstanding catalytic performances. For instance, these complexes have been successfully used in cross-coupling, transfer hydrogenation, and borylation reactions. In many cases, showing enhanced catalytic activities compared with POCOP- or PZCZP-aryl pincer metal analogues. Hence, in this Minireview we summarize the available synthetic routes to produce POCZP aryl pincer ligands and their metal complexes as well as their applications as catalysts in different organic transformations.