Introduction by Prof. Jim Thomas (Volume Editor):

This volume of Science of Synthesis is concerned with six-membered hetarenes with one chalcogen, i.e. pyrylium salts and pyranones together with their sulfur, selenium, and tellurium analogues. As with other volumes of Science of Synthesis, it is the synthesis of these hetarenes which is the dominant topic; their chemistry is covered only when relevant to their synthesis, or in a few instances where it leads to generally useful synthetic procedures, e.g. the Diels–Alder chemistry of pyran-2-ones.

The chemistry of pyrylium salts and pyranones has been studied for a very long time, indeed since the beginning of modern organic chemistry. Hence, many of the references included in this volume date back to fairly early work, although the literature coverage continues up to the end of 2002. However, both pyranones and pyrylium salts retain considerable industrial interest up to the present day, the former because of their biological activities and the latter owing to their use as dyes. So despite their age, the compound classes covered in this volume are of considerable contemporary interest and are likely to remain so for many years to come.

The links below provide further information about Volume 14:

• Detailed table of contents (pdf).
• List of authors.