Cuprocene — the first neutral metallocene with copper as its central metal atom (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c19366) – has been chosen as a finalist for molecule of the year 2026.

Cuprocene was created by a team led by Department of Chemistry Professor William J. Evans. Through oxidation and reduction reactions, the researchers also prepared its cation and anion. Professor Filipp Furche, Director of the X-ray Crystallography Facility Dr. Joseph Ziller, and members of the Evans Lab and the Furche Lab, also collaborated on the article about cuprocene. You can read the article in the JACS journal: Isolable Cuprocenes: Bis(tri-tert-butylcyclopentadienyl) Complexes of Copper