The present state of the chemistry of aminonitrenes and oxynitrenes

The principal aspects of the chemistry of amino- and oxy-nitrenes — the nitrogen analogues of carbenes in which the sextet of the nitrogen atom is linked to another nitrogen atom or two oxygen — are examined. The available information about the methods of detection, structure, methods of generation, and properties of these usually unstable intermediate species are analysed critically. Attention is concentrated on the comparison of amino- and oxy-nitrenes, their rearrangements, and their interactions with unsaturated compounds. The bibliography includes 152 references.