Cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) has recently emerged as a versatile reagent for oxidative electron transfer; the overwhelming number of reports serve as a testimony to the unparalleled utility of CAN in a variety of transformations of synthetic importance. Our recent work has uncovered novel carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions leading to the one-pot synthesis of dihydrofurans, tetrahydrofurans, and aminotetralins. In addition, we have developed a number of facile carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions by the CAN-mediated oxidative addition of soft anions to alkenes. A mechanistic rationale has been provided for the reactions explored. As might be expected of very powerful one-electron oxidants, the chemistry of cerium(IV) oxidation of organic molecules is dominated by radical and radical cation chemistry.

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