A supramolecular microenvironment strategy for transition metal catalysis

Faster elimination inside a cavity Metals are adept at shuffling molecular bonds. They pry apart two atoms and then pair each one with a different partner. Sometimes the atoms get stuck on the metal, though, and the newly partnered products aren't released. Kaphan et al. designed a strategy for accelerating this elimination process (see the Perspective by Yan and Fujita). A hollow supramolecular capsule captured a gold or platinum complex and induced rapid bond formation between the carbon atoms in methyl groups bound to the metal. Generalization of this strategy could open the door to a wide range of chemical transformations that are currently held up by slow eliminations. Science , this issue p. 1235; see also p. 1165