Long-sought Molecule Costs Referee a Bottle of Scotch
11/07/2011A Universität Würzburg (Anorganische Chemie) team led by Prof. Dr. Holger Braunschweig have uncovered the first ever (alkyl)(boryl) transition metal complex, a model of the final intermediate of catalytic borylation reactions.
The article, published in Chemistry – A European Journal was judged a Very Important Paper (VIP) for its relevance to the field of homogeneous catalysis and organic chemistry. This type of complex was for years considered to be too unstable to be isolated, and the finding prompted a referee to comment: “…I made a bet with a colleague a few years ago that such a species could not be isolated. Needless to say, I have just lost a very nice bottle of single malt scotch.” The doctoral student who performed the synthesis, Dipl. Chem. Peter Brenner, has generously offered to buy the referee at least one glass of scotch to reimburse the anonymous referee.
Link to article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.201101823/abstract
Email: h.braunschweig@uni-wuerzburg.de
