1,3-Dinitro Alkanes: An Emerging Class of Bidentate Compounds

1,3-Dinitro alkanes are an emerging class of nitro alkanes that act as bidentate nucleophilic species suited to undergo a variety of reactions with an array of electrophiles. The goal of this microreview is to demonstrate the synthetic potential of these nitro derivatives, reporting both (i) recent procedures for the convenient synthesis (symmetric and asymmetric) of 1,3-dinitro alkanes, and (ii) recent uses of these compounds as strategic starting materials for the preparation of a variety of important fine chemicals.