A review of the latest advancements in using β-cyclodextrin-based as supramolecular catalysts for Heck reactions.

The Heck reaction is one of the most well-known C-C (carbon-carbon) coupling reactions and was identified with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010. These reactions have been broadly utilized to prepare a different spectrum of heterocycles with applications in agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. These reactions are commonly catalyzed by palladium due to its tolerance and expansive variousness of functional groups, which bears a remarkable power in creating C-C bonds. Carbohydrate chemistry is a significant and crucial part of the organic chemistry field. Among existing carbohydrates, β-cyclodextrins (β-CDs) are natural cyclic oligosaccharides that contain glucose monomers and have played an active role in nearly every industrial and scientific field, attention and interest in them never aged. CDs can be utilized as a beneficial catalyst in numerous aqueous organic conversions. Their derivatives have demonstrated remarkable activity in water-mediated organic synthesis and are currently of continuing interest to multiple scientists in different fields. Being non-toxic, accessible, biodegradable, readily functionalized, low-cost, renewable, and producible in large-scale amounts are several of the benefits of CDs that make them a suitable nominee for catalyst applications. Different β-CDs catalysts have recently been widely employed for various C-C bond coupling reactions like the Heck coupling. Here, we review the latest advancements in using CD-based catalysts for Heck reactions.