Transition‐Metal‐Mediated Cleavage of C−C Bonds in Aromatic Rings

Abstract Metal‐mediated cleavage of aromatic C−C bonds has a range of potential synthetic applications: from direct coal liquefaction to synthesis of natural products. However, in contrast to the activation of aromatic C−H bonds, which has already been widely studied and exploited in diverse set of functionalization reactions, cleavage of aromatic C−C bonds remains Terra incognita . This Minireview summarizes the recent progress in this field and outlines key challenges to be overcome to develop synthetic methods based on this fundamental organometallic transformation.