The major goal of this application is to develop the catalytic generation of conceptually-novel carbyne equivalents and related species, and to study their reactivity towards carbon-hydrogen bonds. The catalytic activation of designed sources will reveal new reactivity rules at carbon that chemists have been missing, not only in the design and discovery of new chemical reactions, but also in their use to build molecular complexity. Our approach will rely on novel activation modes that unlock elusive and useful disconnection approaches for chiral carbon centres that may find immediate real-world applications.