Seventy-year search for simpler route to valuable reactive intermediate ends

Structure

Source: © 2025 Kazuya Inagaki et al/Elsevier Inc

Ortho-quinodimethane made under mild conditions from common reagents

Since ortho-quinodimethane was first proposed in 1957, it has remained an elusive yet valuable molecule for the creation of complex compounds found in natural products and medicines. But two chemists from Japan have now found a simpler way to make this reactive intermediate from readily available chemicals.