Chemistry of Digermabenzenes: Discovery of Ge-catalyzed Cyclotrimerization of Arylalkynes

Academically and industrially, the catalytic activation of neutral small molecules followed by the formation of C-C bonds is a highly important method to increase the complexity and/or value of simple starting materials. Traditionally, transition-metal catalysts have been used for this purpose, and these are still considered superior to catalysts based on main-group elements. However, catalytic transformation reactions of neutral small organic...