Recent Advances in C–H Activation for the Synthesis of π-Extended Materials

The activation of typically unreactive aromatic C–H bonds by transition-metal catalysis has been receiving increased attention from the synthetic chemistry community in recent years. Advances in this area have enabled direct and site-selective modification of aromatic rings without the need for pre-functionalization. Accordingly, these techniques have found broad application in many fields, including the construction of extended π-systems for use in materials science. This review will discuss recent reports of C–H activation reactions applied toward the synthesis of π-extended functional materials.