Our Review, “Cycloaddition-Based Retrosynthetic Logic for the Diversification and Molecular Editing of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons,” has been published in Chemical Reviews.

Cycloaddition-Based Retrosynthetic Logic for the Diversification and Molecular Editing of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Sajan Pradhan, Rikuou Tanase, Kazuma Amaike, Taichi Koike, Hiroshi Masai, Kenichiro Itami

Chem. Rev. 2026, 126, ASAP.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6c00372

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are no longer simply molecular skeletons to be constructed. They can be grown, diversified, and even edited. This Review highlights how cycloaddition-based retrosynthetic logic provides a unifying strategy for directly transforming PAH frameworks, from annulative π-extension (APEX) and C-H amination to dearomative atom insertion and two-carbon fragment exchange. By connecting PAH diversification with emerging approaches to skeletal and molecular editing, we discuss how this synthetic logic is opening new chemical and structural space for π-molecules.

Congratulations to Sajan and the entire team!