Carbenes, related intermediates, and small-sized cycles: contribution from Professor Nefedov’s laboratory

The review summarizes some of the most prominent results obtained in the laboratory headed by Academician Oleg M. Nefedov at the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the field of chemistry of carbenes, their heavy analogs, and related intermediates, as well as small-sized cycles. Those include elaboration of safe methodology of cyclopropanation using diazomethane, development and extension of synthetic applications of diazoesters and other diazo compounds in the preparation of valuable chemical products, design of functionalized alkynylcyclopropanes on the basis of alkynylcarbene reactions, creation of versatile synthetic approaches to preparation of various practically useful fluoroorganic compounds on the basis of reactions of fluorocarbenes, development of synthetic applications of heavy carbene analogs and synthesis of small-sized heterocycles containing silicon and germanium atoms, analysis of mechanisms of some important reactions of carbenes, their analogs and related intermediates on the basis of physicochemical studies, direct spectroscopic studies of various labile intermediates of chemical reactions.