Synlett 2012; 23(19): 2746-2748
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1317701
cluster
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

C–H Bond Functionalization & Synthesis in the 21st Century: A Brief History and Prospectus

M. Christina White
Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA   Fax: +1(217)2445943   Email: white@scs.uiuc.edu
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 08 November 2012

Accepted: 09 November 2012

Publication Date:
22 November 2012 (online)


Abstract

Among the frontier challenges facing synthetic chemistry in the 21st century are the interconnected goals of increasing control of chemical reactivity and synthesizing complex molecules with higher levels of efficiency. Catalytic C–H bond functionalization reactions are increasingly being discovered that meet the criterion for useful reactivity (i.e. preparative, predictably selective, and general). Consequently, such reactions are enabling chemists to exploit strategies for complex molecule synthesis and derivatization previously accessible only in nature. This preface highlights some of the achievements and important challenges that remain in the area of C–H bond functionalization.�