Unsubstituted acenes are intriguing from both experimental and theoretical point of views; however, the preparation and handling of such acenes have been difficult due to their low solubility and high reactivity. Here, unsubstituted nonacene was successfully synthesized in preparative scale.

The development of photoresponsive systems that show multiple-state photochromism has remained a challenging task. We present an alkynylgold(I) complex that features multiple photoinduced color changes, in which the gold(I) center plays an important role in allowing multiple photochromic reactions.

We have developed a general methodology for heterogeneous iron-catalysed deuteration reactions. The catalytic system is effective for selective deuteration of anilines, indoles, phenols, and other heterocyclic compounds including late-stage labelling of natural products as well as bioactive molecules and can be readily used for the preparation of deuterated compounds on kg-scale.