Category Archives: Chemistry

Silicon, which is less electronegative than carbon or hydrogen atoms, can significantly alter the electronic characteristics of an organic molecule. Replacing the hydrogen atoms of an aromatic C–H group with silyl groups has emerged as an important strategy in industrial-scale chemical synthesis because these substituents can tune molecular reactivity, enabling construction of elaborate chemical frameworks.  Chemists normally use transition metals such as platinum or rhodium to catalyze aromatic silylation reactions. But to achieve high conversions, these catalysts need to be mixed with additional hydrogen acceptor reagents, which can generate unwanted waste products, including alkanes.  Hou and colleagues have pioneered studies into rare-earth metals, such as scandium, which have different catalytic properties to transition metals. Continue reading →