Indium‐Mediated Reductive Coupling Reactions

Abstract Indium, a main‐group metal, has unique chemical characteristics that allow it to lose one or three electrons to generate indium ionic compounds or organoindium compounds due to its low reduction potential and large atomic radius. Organoindium reagents are insensitive to water and oxygen, which has made them widely useful in organic synthesis. As in the periodic table's p‐block, indium has a lower electron‐donating capacity and survives in milder reactions than alkali and alkaline earth metals. This makes indium a potentially good metal for reductive coupling reactions. Unfortunately, research in this area is limited. This review discusses the use of indium as a reductant in the reductive coupling reactions, which produce C─C, C─P, and C─Si bonds.