'Half-sandwich' rare-earth catalysts provide unprecedented directional control over aromatic insertion reactions
Friday, March 8, 2013 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Methoxybenzene, commonly known as 'anisole' because of its aniseed aroma, is an important compound in organic chemistry. Anisole-type frameworks are found in numerous molecules ranging from pheromones to fluorescent dyes. New findings from Zhaomin Hou and colleagues from the Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute now promise to make the construction of these substances more efficient thanks to unique rare-earth catalysts that direct synthetic reagents to specific sites on anisole rings.