Carbonyl Desaturation: Where Does Catalysis Stand?

There is a strong parallel between simple alcohol oxidation and carbonyl desaturation from both strategic and tactical vantage points. As they both seek to extract hydrogen from an organic substrate, they are deceptively simple looking transformations that have been addressed over the past 70+ years through stoichiometric means. The past decade has seen an intensifying level of interest in rendering both of these simple reactions catalytic. In this Perspective, recent advances from the past 5 years are highlighted featuring both transition-metal-catalyzed and metal-free approaches to carbonyl desaturation. Through a historical overview and a detailed look at each of these new developments, we seek to address the question of in what context a catalytic strategy emerges as ideal.