Suzuki reaction. Animation showing the Suzuki reaction, a chemical reaction that forms a carbon-carbon bond between two molecules. - HD stock video

Carbon-carbon bond formation is extremely important in organic synthesis, and the 2010 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Akira Suzuki (and Richard Heck and Ei-ichi Negishi) for his work on the reaction that bears his name. This animation shows a molecule of bromobenzene (left) reacting with another benzene molecule with a boron group (yellow) attached, in the presence of a palladium catalyst (blue). Firstly, the palladium inserts into the carbon-bromine bond, then also displaces the boron group, leading to the formation of a palladium bridge between carbon atoms. The palladium departs and the bridge reforms as a bond between the two carbons, leaving a molecule of biphenyl