GoKawiilRhodium catalyst inserts single carbon atom to build spirocyclic C–C bonds
Researchers developed a rhodium-catalysed reaction that inserts one carbon atom into C–C sigma bonds of biphenylene molecules, forming four new C–C bonds around a single spiro carbon center. The method uses N-isocyanoiminophosphorane as a carbon-atom source and works for both identical and different biphenylene partners, as well as reactions mixing sigma- and pi-bond activation.
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Spirocyclic structures are valued building blocks in materials like organic electronics, in metal-binding ligands, and in natural product synthesis, so a reliable way to assemble them could broaden design options for chemists. Because prior carbon-insertion methods mostly worked through pi-bonds, this approach to controlled sigma-bond insertion may open new synthetic routes that were previously considered difficult or inaccessible, according to the researchers.
- A rhodium catalyst enables direct insertion of a single carbon atom into C–C sigma bonds
- The reaction forms four new C–C bonds simultaneously at one spiro carbon center
- The method extends to cross-spirofusion and mixed sigma/pi-bond activation strategies
Source: nature.com — Fujimoto, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Catalytic transfer of carbon atoms enables spirofusion of C–C σ-bonds”
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