Activation of Strong Bonds Enabled by Arene π-Coordination

π-Coordination of an arene to a metal fragment decreases its electron density and has been often utilized to accelerate aromatic nucleophilic substitution, for example. By contrast, this strategy has only recently been applied to transition-metal-catalyzed C–H bond functionalization. This short review summarizes the development of the field, with the hope to further stimulate interest in this methodology. Transition-metal-catalyzed and -mediated C–H activation of arenes η6-coordinated to chromium and other metals is mainly discussed; to highlight the potential of this strategy for organic synthesis, the activation of other strong bonds, with a focus on C–O bond activation, is also presented.

Publication History

Received: 31 March 2025

Accepted after revision: 15 July 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
15 July 2025