Stereochemical journey through carbocations and their precursors

This seminar connects molecular chirality with the reactivity of cations and their precursors. Helical structures based on delocalized triarylcarbenium frameworks provide a platform for tuning electronic and chiroptical properties. A second focus is metal-catalysed decomposition of diazocarbonyl compounds, yielding ylides and elaborated heterocycles. The discussion includes tetrahetero-substituted methanes with unusually persistent configurations and relates their resistance to enantiomerization to carbocation chemistry.