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Organic chemistry

Precision pruning of molecules

If organic molecules were trees, then the numerous carbon–hydrogen bonds within them would be leaves. A catalyst that targets one 'leaf' out of many similar other ones looks set to be a huge leap for synthetic chemistry. See Letter p.230

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Figure 1: A selective C–H functionalization reaction.

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Correspondence to Keary M. Engle.

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Yang, K., Engle, K. Precision pruning of molecules. Nature 533, 183–184 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/533183a

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