Shaping Molecular Landscapes: Recent Advances, Opportunities, and Challenges in Dearomatization

Dearomatization is a compelling synthetic strategy that converts aromatic compounds—one of the most abundant classes of molecules—into high-value alicyclic intermediates. Much progress has been made in the development and application of dearomatizations; however, dearomative functionalizations are still nascent and underdeveloped. In this Perspective, we showcase the recent advancement of dearomative chemistry at the frontline of complex molecule synthesis and method development. Finally, we describe challenging and unsolved problems, which are likely to inspire further efforts in the future.