Cover Feature: Water-Mediated Thermal Rearrangement of a Cage-Opened C₆₀ Derivative (ChemPlusChem 12/2021)

Graphical Abstract

The cover feature shows the water-mediated thermal rearrangement of a cage-opened fullerene C₆₀ derivative gave a compound bearing an ester moiety while the opening was partially closed from a 16- to 14-membered ring. In this reaction, water plays an indispensable role for cleaving a C–C bond and subsequent proton transfer process. The further decarbonylation was found to afford another 14-membered ring orifice by extending the reaction time, at which the water molecule underwent the Michael addition to form the corresponding hydroxy derivative. More information can be found in the Communication by Y. Hashikawa and Y. Murata.