Triptycene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, the simplest iptycene molecule with the formula C2H2(C6H4)3.

Due to the rigid framework and three-dimensional geometry, derivatives of triptycene have been well researched.

The hydrocarbon framework is very rigid and triptycene derivatives such as triptycene quinones[4] are therefore incorporated in many organic compounds as a molecular scaffold for various applications, such as molecular motors[5] or ligands.

For example, a bis(diphenylphosphino) derivative was used as a phosphine ligand on nickel in a highly selective hydrocyanation reaction of butadiene.

[6] The reactivity of this catalyst is attributed to the large bite angle of the bidentate ligand supported by the triptycene framework.