Mechanisms of metal-catalyzed dehydrocoupling reactions.

This review summarizes selected mechanistic insight garnered from reactions that form bonds between main group elements with liberation of hydrogen, dehydrocoupling or dehydropolymerization reactions. Focus has been made where mechanistic study has been done or provides unique insight as compared to previous work. Thus, a limited number of catalysts and substrates will be discussed, but a broad range of mechanistic features will be noted. A comparative approach considering dehydrocoupling reactions that appear to proceed by certain mechanistic steps is taken here, beginning with steps that are well established and general then moving to those that are newer, at least to this application.