This chapter has overviewed the stability of selenocarbonyl compounds that
have been classified based on the substituents attached to their selenocarbonyl carbon
atom. Focus has then been laid on the synthetic methods for selenoamides, whose
chemistry has grown much more than that of other selenocarbonyl compounds in the
last ten years. As starting materials leading to selenoamides, ordinary amides, nitriles
and terminal acetylenes are mainly used. As a final part of this review, recent
application of selenoamides to synthetic reactions has been introduced. Nucleophilic
characters of selenium and nitrogen atoms in selenoamides have enabled several types
of intermolecular cyclizations. The carbon atom of selenoamides can accept
nucleophilic attack and selenium atom can formally work as a leaving group.
Keywords: Selenocarbonyl compounds, Selenoamides, Amides, Nitriles,
Acetylenes, Cyclization, Selenoiminium salts, Copper (0), Complexes,
Photoinduction.