Tetrahedron report number 924Recent developments in the reactivity of methylene- and alkylidenecyclopropane derivatives

This review is intended to update the recent developments in the reactivity of methylene- and alkylidenecyclopropanes, covering the literature from 2003 to 2010. The highly strained structure of these atypical compounds allows an otherwise unattainable chemical reactivity in many diverse synthetic applications, such as ring-opening reactions, cycloaddition reactions, rearrangements, radical reactions, polymerisation reactions and miscellaneous reactions including addition reactions with ring conservation and Heck reactions.This review clearly demonstrates the spectacular diversity and power of these reactions in the field of synthetic organic chemistry, such as the synthesis of a wide number of heterocyclic compounds.