Cobalt has the chemical configuration [Ar]4s 2 3d 7 and has oxidation states Co(II) and Co(III). Cobalt has many applications in a wide range of areas. In materials, cobalt is primarily used as the metal, for example, in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys. In biology, cobalt is the active center of coenzymes called cobalamins, the most common example of which is vitamin B 12 . As such, it is an essential trace dietary mineral for all animals. Cobalt in inorganic form is also an active nutrient for bacteria, algae and fungi. In chemistry, various cobalt compounds are used as oxidation catalysts in chemical reactions. Cobalt acetate is used for the conversion of xylene to terephthalic acid, the precursor to the bulk polymer poly(ethylene terephthalate). Typical catalysts are the cobalt carboxylates (known as cobalt soaps). They are also used in paints, varnishes and inks as 'drying agents' through the oxidation of drying oils. The same carboxylates are also used to improve the adhesion of steel to rubber in steel-belted radial tires. Cobalt-based catalysts are also important in reactions involving carbon monoxide. In this chapter, the applications of cobalt catalysts in the synthesis of heterocycles is discussed.
Five-Membered HeterocyclesIn 1986, Pattenden and co-workers reported a cobalt-promoted oxidative freeradical cyclization of alkyl bromides, 1 by which functionalized butyrolactones were selectively formed in good yields. In 1990, a convenient method for the stereoselective preparation of trans-2-hydroxymethyltetrahydrofurans by the oxidative cyclization of 5-hydroxy-1-alkenes was developed by Inoki and Mukaiyama. 2 They used bis(1-morpholinocarbamoyl-4,4-dimethyl-1,3-pentanedionato)cobalt(II) [Co(modp) 2 ] as the catalyst with molecular oxygen as the RSC Catalysis Series No.