Organometallic chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

Alkynes are key building blocks in synthetic chemistry and materials science. Now, a modular synthesis of alkynes, through coupling of carboxylic acid esters with gem-diborylalkanes, is reported. Using isotopically labelled substrates, products with a ¹³C label at either or both carbons of the alkyne unit can be produced.

Carbon-free analogues of metallocene with homoleptic arsenic or antimony ligands have remained experimentally elusive, especially analogues of higher nuclearity. Now, sandwich-type clusters containing three-dimensional icosahedral metal centres and As₅^– or Sb₅^– ligands have been synthesized.

Symmetry breaking charge separations have been found to be important for charge transfer in bacteriochlorophyll pairs in photosynthetic reaction centers, but engineering symmetry breaking charge separations in artificial dimers of related chromophores is challenging. Here, the authors report the design and synthesis of aromatic-bridged as well as meso-meso-linked BF₂-smaragdyrin dimers that exhibit symmetry-breaking charge transfer properties.

Carbyne anions are under explored and poorly understood, owing to their isolation being unknown. Now, the synthesis and isolation of copper phosphinocarbyne anion complexes are reported. Displaying the reactivity of a carbyne anion, these complexes provide access to singlet carbenes, alkenes and ethenimines.

Introducing unknown compound classes is the key to extent the chemical space qualitatively. Here the authors report on a concept to design heterocyclic compound classes rationally and the synthesis of unknown classes of N-heterocyclic compounds

Stereodefined 1,2-dimetallated alkenes are underexplored in organic synthesis due to their relatively low stability. Now, the reductive anti-1,2-dimetallation of alkynes provides access to trans-1,2-dimagnesio- and 1,2-dialuminoalkenes. The process uses sodium dispersion as a reducing agent with organomagnesium and organoaluminium halides as reduction-resistant electrophiles.