Research News

The paper titled “N-Heterocyclic Carbenes with Polyfluorinated Groups at the 4- and 5-Positions from [3 + 2] Cycloadditions between Formamidinates and cis-1,2-Difluoroalkene Derivatives,” by Professor Masato Ohashi and Assistant Professor Kenichi Michigami from the OMU Graduate School of Science, has been selected for the supplementary cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

In this study, the researchers successfully used perfluoroalkenes to synthesize fluorinated N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), which have a number of fluorine atoms and strong electron-accepting properties. Their findings not only offer a technique for converting environmentally harmful perfluoroalkyl compounds into valuable molecules but also provide new insights into the electronic and steric design of NHCs and ligated transition metal complexes that employ them as ligands. Additionally, further structural modification would allow for advanced fine-tuning of the electronic properties of these NHCs.

Research details

The cover illustration demonstrates how a fragment called formamidine cleaves two adjacent strong carbon¬–fluorine bonds in a perfluoroalkene, eliminating fluorine atoms and producing an NHC.