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Synlett 1999; 1999(8): 1331
DOI: 10.1055/s-1999-5735
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Indium

Dramane Lainé*
  • *Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
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Publication Date:
31 December 1999 (online)

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Since the beginning of the nineties, the use of metallic indium in organic synthesis has provoked widespread interest. What makes this metal particularly attractive is its realtive non-toxicity, its inertia to air and more importantly to water. This compatibility allows reactions involving water soluble molecules, such as unprotected carbohydrates, to be carried out in a simple, straightforward manner, thus avoiding protection-deprotection protocols. The lower first ionisation potential of indium (5.8 eV) relative to similarly water resistant metals such as tin (7.3 eV) and zinc (9.4 eV) makes it a very mild and useful reactant for single electron transfer processes. Thus the main use of indium has been to mediate Reformatsky and Barbier-type reactions in polar solvents (water, DMF) under very mild conditions.