Recent Advances in Benzocyclobutene Chemistry

Abstract The benzocyclobutene (BCB) moiety is present in several bioactive natural products and medicinally interesting molecules. BCB is also a valuable synthon for building a variety of polymers by the virtue of its propensity to undergo polymerization. The research on BCB chemistry has grown in the last few decades due to its unique applications in various fields of science. In this review, we have included various methods for the preparation of BCBs and highlighted their applications in the construction of diverse complex structural frameworks. We believe that this review will be useful to synthetic chemists and polymer scientists, and we anticipate several new applications will emerge in this promising area.