Stable salts unlock alternative to potentially explosive reagents in carbene chemistry

Many useful reactions in chemistry come with a trade-off: the reactive reagents that make them effective can also present practical and safety challenges. Carbene chemistry is one such example. For decades, chemists have relied on diazo compounds to generate reactive carbenes, ev

Many useful reactions in chemistry come with a trade-off: the reactive reagents that make them effective can also present practical and safety challenges. Carbene chemistry is one such example. For decades, chemists have relied on diazo compounds to generate reactive carbenes, even though diazoalkanes can be toxic, unstable and potentially explosive.