Activate dormant C–H bonds with tons of enthusiasm: an interview with Jin-Quan Yu

Synthetic chemistry is the art of molecules. By breaking and forming chemical bonds, chemists can transform one molecule into another, and provide a variety of chemicals that we use in our daily lives. Among all chemical bonds, the carbon-hydrogen (C–H) bond is one of the most common, and is present in almost every organic compound. Breaking C–H bonds and connecting the carbon atoms with other atoms or groups is an essential step for the synthesis of a large variety of chemicals—from bulk chemicals to functional materials and drug candidates. However, the C–H bond is extremely stable and difficult to break, and C–H activation and functionalization has been a challenging fundamental problem for decades. Professor Jin-Quan Yu (余金权) from the Scripps Research Institute is one of the most active scientists in this field. His group developed a number of C–H activation catalysts—often consisting of metal centers and elaborately designed ligands—that drastically shorten the synthesis steps of diverse functional molecules and provide high reactivity and selectivity. Here, Professor Yu discussed with NSR the interesting field of C–H activation, as well as sharing reflections on his own research.