Organic Reactions celebrates its Platinum Jubilee Anniversary with the publication of Volume 100 comprising fifteen chapters of impeccable quality that faithfully reflect the most important advances in recent decades and that now define the frontier of synthetic organic chemistry. Future generations of chemists will no doubt recognize the overwhelming significance of catalysis (and are likely still engaged in catalysis in some form). Among the fifteen chapters, thirteen involve catalytic transformations of which eleven use transition metals, one uses hydrogen-bonding catalysis and one employs many different kinds of catalysis for a given reaction. The other two chapters highlight the importance of Main-Group organometallic reagents (lithium, magnesium, zinc). Moreover, seven of the chapters contain “Enantioselective” in the title and many of the others deal with some aspect of selectivity (diastereo- or site). These titles evince the compelling trend in synthetic organic chemistry of the ability to exercise exquisite control over the construction of molecules with greater and greater precision. No doubt this trend will continue as efforts focused on manipulating complex molecules with the same level of precision are needed and invented.
The chapters can be accessed from: https://www.organicdivision.org/organicreactions/