Allenes as three-carbon units in catalytic cycloadditions: new opportunities with transition-metal catalysts

Abstract

Allenes are very versatile synthetic units that are used in many types of catalytic cycloaddition reactions. Most examples reported so far involve their use as 2C-atom components, whereas their participations as 3C-atom components have been much less frequent. In this concept article, we present an overview of this latter strategy, emphasizing on those more recent contributions involving the use of Pt(II) and Au(I) catalysts, which have uncovered new opportunities in this area.