Abstract: One of the long standing challenges of synthetic organic chemistry is the preparation of strained molecules, and the first one in this series is cubane. Not only was this called an ‘impossible’ molecule, but the scientific community in general thought it could never be made in reality, until 1964 when Prof. Phillip E. Eaton first made this molecule starting from simple starting materials and a beautiful strategy which employed only two basic reactions. Not only the molecule had extraordinary stability, but also showed properties which are unexpected from a C-C single bond. He went a step further in an attempt to prepare substituted cubanes and ended up having some extraordinary results that are usually not found in saturated hydrocarbons. Even if it was not considered for direct applications, it greatly enhanced our understanding of what a C-C bond is, in greater detail. His works on cubane lead to other very interesting molecules like Cubene and homocubenes (the most twisted alkene ever known) and octanitrocubane (one of the most efficient propellant), each one having their own fascinating properties. It has recently been found that cubane is an efficient bioisostere for benzne and has profound medicinal importance in recent times.
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