Bowl-Shaped Fragments of C70or Higher Fullerenes: Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Inversion Dynamics

Three-Step Synthesis of Fluoranthenes through Pd-Catalyzed Inter- and Intramolecular C-H Arylation

A three-step synthetic method for the preparation of fluoranthenes, involving Miura's intermolecular C-H arylation, nonaflation, and intramolecular C-H arylation, has been developed. Various 1-naphthols and haloarenes were successfully used as substrates. Reaction conditions that afford high site selectivity have been developed for the intramolecular C-H arylation step.

Flexibility Coexists with Shape-Persistence in Cyanostar Macrocycles

Shape-persistent macrocycles are attractive functional targets for synthesis, molecular recognition, and hierarchical self-assembly. Such macrocycles are noncollapsible and geometrically well-defined, and they are traditionally characterized by having repeat units and low conformational flexibility. Here, we find it necessary to refine these ideas in the face of highly flexible yet shape-persistent macrocycles. A molecule is shape-persistent if it has a small change in shape when perturbed by external stimuli (e.g., heat, light, and redox chemistry). In support of this idea, we provide the first examination of the relationships between a macrocycle's shape persistence, its conformational space, and the resulting functions. We do this with a star-shaped macrocycle called cyanostar that is flexible as well as being shape-persistent. We employed molecular dynamics (MD), density functional theory (DFT), and NMR experiments. Considering a thermal bath as a stimulus, we found a single macrocycle has 332 accessible conformers with olefins undergoing rapid interconversion by up-down and in-out motions on short time scales (0.2 ns). These many interconverting conformations classify single cyanostars as flexible. To determine and confirm that cyanostars are shape-persistent, we show that they have a high 87% shape similarity across these conformations. To further test the idea, we use the binding of diglyme to the single macrocycle as guest-induced stimulation. This guest has almost no effect on the conformational space. However, formation of a 2:1 sandwich complex involving two macrocycles enhances rigidity and dramatically shifts the conformer distribution toward perfect bowls. Overall, the present study expands the scope of shape-persistent macrocycles to include flexible macrocycles if, and only if, their conformers have similar shapes.

Fused π-Extended Truxenes via a Threefold Borylation as the Key Step

On the basis of a threefold borylated truxene, which is accessible in high yields by iridium-catalyzed borylation under CH-activation, fused π-extended truxenes have been synthesized by a two-step method of first Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction and subsequent condensation reaction. The mild condensation method tolerates the presence of a variety of functional groups, such as nitro, fluoro, or carboxyl moieties. Furthermore, by using this approach, N- and S-heteroarene analogues become accessible for the first time, as well as larger structures that represent derivatives of precursors for fullerene C60 or buckybowls. The attached tert-butyl groups make all derivatives sufficiently soluble to allow full spectroscopic and electrochemical investigations. Postfunctionalization of selected derivatives for further synthetic applications of the compounds is also presented.

Fullerene recognition with molecular tweezers made up of efficient buckybowls: a dispersion-corrected DFT study

In 2007, Sygula and co-workers introduced a novel type of molecular tweezers with buckybowl pincers that have attracted the substantial interest of researchers due to their ideal architecture for recognizing fullerenes by concave-convex π∙∙∙π interactions (A. Sygula et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129, 3842). Although in recent years some modifications have been performed on these original molecular tweezers to improve their ability for catching fullerenes, very few improvements were achieved to date. For that reason, in the present work a series of molecular tweezers have been devised and their supramolecular complexes with C60 studied at the B97-D2/TZVP//SCC-DFTB-D and B97-D2/TZVP levels. Three different strategies have been tested: (1) changing the corannulene pincers to other buckybowls, (2) replacing the tetrabenzocyclooctatetraene tether by a buckybowl, and (3) adding methyl groups on the molecular tweezers. According to the results, all the three approaches are effective, in such a way that a combination of the three strategies results in buckycatchers with complexation energies (with C60) up to 2.6 times larger than that of the original buckycatcher, reaching almost -100 kcal mol(-1). The B97-D2/TZVP//SCC-DFTB-D approach can be a rapid screening tool for testing new molecular tweezers. However, since this approach does not reproduce correctly the deformation energy and this energy represents an important contribution to the total complexation energy of complexes, subsequent higher-level re-optimization is compulsory to achieve reliable results (the full B97-D2/TZVP level is used herein). This re-optimization could be superfluous when quite rigid buckycatchers are studied.

Construction of a hemifullerene skeleton: a regioselective intramolecular oxidative cyclization

A two-step synthesis of a strained π bowl, with hemifullerene skeleton from sumanene, was achieved in a high yield. The first step is a base-promoted condensation reaction with a benzophenone compound, bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)methanone. The second step is the regioselective intramolecular oxidative cyclization, which is a key reaction for the hemifullerene skeleton synthesis. This regioselective cyclization is likely to be under thermodynamic control. This strategy will allow facile synthesis of various highly strained π bowls.

Bent π-conjugated systems composed of three-dimensional benzoannulenes

This article describes bent π-conjugated systems composed of alternating o-phenylene and Z-vinylene units. all-Z-[n]Benzo[4n]annulenes are higher homologues of dibenzocyclooctatetraene (DBCOT) with a concave π system, and attempts were made to convert [20]- and [24]annulenes having partial belt structures of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes into [10]- and [12]phenacenes. A bent π-conjugated system composed of two DBCOT units showed dynamic syn-anti equilibrium in solution and behaved as dynamic molecular tweezers (DMTs). The syn isomers of the DMTs formed blue charge-transfer complexes with DDQ in solution, and this complexation and color change were applied to thermochromism. Furthermore, DMTs having two CN groups on each COT ring exhibited crystalline-state emission in the presence of solvent molecules, although almost no emission was observed in solution or the solid state. Based on this crystalline-state emission, a vapochromic system was established. The multifunctional properties of DMTs caused by the flexibility of the nonplanar π system are summarized.

Tailoring buckybowls for fullerene recognition. A dispersion-corrected DFT study

The shape of a buckybowl plays a fundamental role in the enhancement of fullerene recognition. Compounds whose structure possesses flaps at the rim of the bowl show an enhanced ability.

Synthesis, π-face-selective aggregation, and π-face chiral recognition of configurationally stable C(3)-symmetric propeller-chiral molecules with a π-core

The C3 -symmetric propeller-chiral compounds (P,P,P)-1 and (M,M,M)-1 with planar π-cores perpendicular to the C3 -axis were synthesized in optically pure states. (P,P,P)-1 possesses two distinguishable propeller-chiral π-faces with rims of different heights named the (P/L)-face and (P/H)-face. Each face is configurationally stable because of the rigid structure of the helicenes contained in the π-core. (P,P,P)-1 formed dimeric aggregates in organic solutions as indicated by the results of (1) H NMR, CD, and UV/Vis spectroscopy and vapor pressure osmometry analyses. The (P/L)/(P/L) interactions were observed in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray analysis, and they were also predominant over the (P/H)/(P/H) and (P/L)/(P/H) interactions in solution, as indicated by the results of (1) H and 2D NMR spectroscopy analyses. The dimerization constant was obtained for a racemic mixture, which showed that the heterochiral (P,P,P)-1/(M,M,M)-1 interactions were much weaker than the homochiral (P,P,P)-1/(P,P,P)-1 interactions. The results indicated that the propeller-chiral (P/L)-face interacts with the (P/L)-face more strongly than with the (P/H)-face, (M/L)-face, and (M/H)-face. The study showed the π-face-selective aggregation and π-face chiral recognition of the configurationally stable propeller-chiral molecules.

Metal-catalyzed annulation reactions for π-conjugated polycycles

The progress of the metal-catalyzed annulation reactions toward construction of various π-conjugated polycyclic cores with high conjugation extension is described. This article gives a brief overview of various annulation reactions promoted by metal catalysts including C-H bond functionalization, [2+2+2] cycloaddition, cascade processes, ring closing metathesis, electrophilic aromatization, and various cross-coupling reactions. A variety of conjugated polycycles with planar, bowl-shaped, and helical structures have been constructed in high efficiency and selectivity.

Synthesis and structural data of tetrabenzo[8]circulene

In 1976, the first attempted synthesis of the saddle-shaped molecule [8]circulene was reported. The next 37 years produced no advancement towards the construction of this complicated molecule. But remarkably, over the last six months, a flurry of progress has been made with two groups reporting independent and strikingly different strategies for the synthesis of [8]circulene derivatives. Herein, we present a third synthetic method, in which we target tetrabenzo[8]circulene. Our approach employs a Diels-Alder reaction and a palladium-catalyzed arylation reaction as the key steps. Despite calculations describing the instability of [8]circulene, coupled with the reported instability of synthesized derivatives of the parent molecule, the addition of four fused benzenoid rings around the periphery of the molecule provides a highly stable structure. This increased stability over the parent [8]circulene was predicted by using Clar's theory of aromatic sextets and is a result of the compound becoming fully benzenoid upon incorporation of these additional rings. The synthesized compound exhibits remarkable stability under ambient conditions-even at elevated temperatures-with no signs of decomposition over several months. The solid-state structure of this compound is significantly twisted compared to the calculated structure primarily as a result of crystal-packing forces in the solid state. Despite this contortion from the lowest-energy structure, a range of structural data is presented confirming the presence of localized aromaticity in this large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

Ring-annelated corannulenes as fullerene receptors. A DFT-D study

Ring-annelated corannulenes behave as better C₆₀/C₇₀ receptor than corannulene C₂₀H₁₀. The interaction is dominated by dispersion, with CH⋯π interactions playing a very important role.

Fluorinated and trifluoromethylated corannulenes

The syntheses and properties of corannulenes carrying electron-withdrawing groups (F, CF3 , C6 F5 ) are reported. Direct fluorination of corannulene (C20 H10 ) was carried out with xenon difluoride, and the crystal structure of the product was confirmed by the X-ray analysis. Novel trifluoromethylated corannulenes, including the versatile 4,9-dibromo-1,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)corannulene, were obtained by various established ring-closing reactions. Besides the use of hexafluorobutyne for the construction of fluoranthenes by Diels-Alder reaction as precursor molecules to form 1,2-disubstituted corannulenes, bis(pentafluorophenyl)acetylene was employed as dienophile. The molecular structure and crystal packing of a trifluoromethylated corannulene was determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis and compared with those known brominated and trifluoromethylated corannulenes. The general electron-acceptor properties of corannulenes bearing substituents introduced in particular positions by liquid-phase synthesis are discussed together with published computational results.