Transition metal mediated activation of C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond in aromatic hydrocarbons

Direct carbon–carbon bond scissions enable the utilization of hydrocarbons in efficient manners and therefore attract much current interest. In this review we summarize the transition metal mediated aromatic hydrocarbons C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond activation processes. In the first part, we introduce the C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond scission via either transition metals insertion into the C–H bond followed by C–C activation or transition metals direct insertion into the C–C bond. In the second part, C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond cleaving transformations using transition metal such as iron and copper as a single-electron-transfer (SET) catalyst for the oxidative scissions was outlined.