C–H bond activation enables the rapid construction and late-stage diversification of functional molecules

The beginning of the twenty-first century has witnessed significant advances in the field of C-H bond activation, and this transformation is now an established piece in the synthetic chemists' toolbox. This methodology has the potential to be used in many different areas of chemistry, for example it provides a perfect opportunity for the late-stage diversification of various kinds of organic scaffolds, ranging from relatively small molecules like drug candidates, to complex polydisperse organic compounds such as polymers. In this way, C-H activation approaches enable relatively straightforward access to a plethora of analogues or can help to streamline the lead-optimization phase. Furthermore, synthetic pathways for the construction of complex organic materials can now be designed that are more atom- and step-economical than previous methods and, in some cases, can be based on synthetic disconnections that are just not possible without C-H activation. This Perspective highlights the potential of metal-catalysed C-H bond activation reactions, which now extend beyond the field of traditional synthetic organic chemistry.