ABSTRACT
Photolysis of organic azides leads almost exclusively to the extrusion of molecular nitrogen. The resulting nitrenes, a class of organic 1,1-biradicals, may react from two different spin states (singlet or triplet) and show a very complex chemistry. Nitrenes are the crucial intermediates in azide photochemistry. This chapter provides a survey about the current state of knowledge on nitrene reactivity, focusing on recent results, particularly on the chemistry of singlet aryl nitrenes. For additional information, the reader may consult the corresponding chapter from the first edition of this handbook
or one or more of the older reviews and monographs on nitrene chemistry.
