Organomanganese chemistry

In a 2009 review, Cahiez et al. argued that as manganese is cheap and benign (only iron performs better in these aspects), organomanganese compounds have potential as chemical reagents, although currently they are not widely used as such despite extensive research.

These species are precursors to alkyl, aryl, and acyl derivatives: The general pattern of reactivity is analogous to that for the more popular cyclopentadienyliron dicarbonyl dimer.

The electronegativity of Mn (1.55) is comparable to that of Mg (1.31) and Zn (1.65), making the carbon atom (EN = 2.55) nucleophilic.

Organomanganese halides react with aldehydes and ketones to the alcohol, with carbon dioxide to the carboxylic acid (tolerating higher operating temperature than corresponding RLi or RMgBr counterparts), sulfur dioxide and isocyanates behaving like soft Grignard reagents.

Manganese halides are catalysts in several homo- and crosscoupling reactions involving stannanes and Grignards in which organomanganese intermediates play a part.

Likewise coupling reactions involving organomanganese halides are catalysed by Pd, Ni, Cu and Fe compounds.