Organocobalt Compounds in the Synthesis of Pyridines

The cocyclization of alkynes with cyano compounds using organocobalt catalysts of the type [YCoL] is a useful synthetic method for pyridine and its derivatives. Y represents a controlling ligand, e.g. cyclopentadienyl, L is a neutral ligand, e.g. cyclooctadiene. A correlation between the 59Co NMR spectra of the [YCoL]‐complexes and their catalytic properties in the pyridine synthesis leads to certain structure‐effectivity relationships.