Novel Syntheses of Aryl and Benzyl Selenides Promted by Metallic Zinc in Aqueous Media

Introduction Recently, organometallic-type of reactions in aqueous media have attracted a considerable interest in organic syntheses1-4]. The main advantage of making organometallic reactions in strictly anhydrous organic solvents took place in aqueous media is the ease of the reactions so as to obviate the need for inflammable anhydrous organic solvents and troublesome inert atmosphere. For some reactions, e.g., the alkylations of the carbonyl group in carbohydrates didnt need to be altered to take place in organic solvents5]. The most commonly used metals are zinc, tin and indium1-4].