Reactive precursors articles from across Nature Portfolio

The synthesis, structure and reactivity of room-temperature-stable [Cp(C₆F₅)₅]⁺[Sb₃F₁₆]⁻ is presented. Coordination of the cyclopentadienyl cation by [Sb₃F₁₆]⁻ or C₆F₆ stabilizes the antiaromatic singlet state in the solid state. Calculated hydride and fluoride ion affinities of the [Cp(C₆F₅)₅]⁺ cation are higher than those of the tritylium cation [C(C₆F₅)₃]⁺.

[6,6]-Phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), a star molecule in the fullerene field, has found wide applications in materials science. Here, the authors demonstrate the synthesis of buckyballs with fused-ring systems via electrosynthesis through radical α-C−H functionalization of the side-chain ester for both PCBM and its analogue.

A ternary metallic alloy VS_2xSe_2(1–x) that has a tunable work function can be grown using chemical vapour deposition and used as contacts for two-dimensional semiconductors.

Aromatic ring fused cyclobutanone is a strained motif with broad applications. Here, the authors report a catalytic 4- exo-dig process, which proved successful to access furan-fused cyclobutanones that can serve as versatile synthetic blocks.

Di-tert-butylphosphine is an important substituent in many phosphine ligands, however, its heterocyclic analogues have not yet been isolated. Here, the authors report the synthesis and isolation of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylphosphinane on a gram scale starting from ammonium hypophosphite, and its facile use as a building block in ligand construction.

Monomeric stibine oxide has remained elusive due to the large antimony orbitals coupled with a high electronegativity difference with oxygen. Now, a free tris(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)stibine oxide has been isolated that can act as oxo-transfer reagent.

Organolithium reagents are characterized by their high reactivity towards air and moisture, traditionally requiring strict inert conditions for their handling and utilization. Now, these reagents can be encapsulated within an organogel, enhancing their stability and allowing their use and storage under ambient conditions.

Fluorophenols can be activated towards S_NAr reactions by forming a transient electron-withdrawing phenoxyl radical.

Many of the methods used to make phosphines proceed via phosphorus trichloride-based intermediates, leading to chloride waste that is difficult to recycle. It has now been shown that this disadvantage can be overcome by using a method that directly converts white phosphorus into value-added phosphorus compounds.

Methods for the synthesis of bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes (BCPs) typically rely on the release of strain energy, but these routes cannot easily introduce substituents on the BCP bridges. Now, an intramolecular coupling gives access to multi-substituted BCPs, through the synthesis of bridge-substituted bicycloalkyl boronic esters.

Free radicals are notorious for unselective coupling reactions; however, the coupling of free radicals generated from acyl tellurides has now been shown to form C–C bonds with remarkable fidelity, which enables easy one-step assembly of densely oxygenated natural product motifs.