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Benzene rings broken for chemical synthesis

Benzene rings are almost unbreakable in typical reaction conditions. Chemistry has now been developed that selectively breaks these rings open, highlighting their potential as building blocks for making open-chain molecules.
  1. Mark R. Crimmin

    1. Mark R. Crimmin is in the Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London W12 0BZ, UK.

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Synthetic chemists are always searching for new ways to make chemical bonds. Methods for forging carbon–carbon (C–C) bonds are especially important, because they enable organic molecules to be built from scratch, step by step and piece by piece. Once constructed, C–C bonds are often considered to be ‘untouchable’ parts of the molecule that generally resist further chemical transformation. Writing in Nature, Qiu et al.1 challenge this preconception by reporting a reaction that breaks the strong C–C bonds of organic molecules known as aromatic compounds.

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Nature 597, 33-34 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02322-y

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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