Copper Causes Regiospecific Formation of C4 F8 -Containing Six-Membered Rings and their Defluorination/Aromatization to C4 F4 -Containing Rings in Triphenylene/1,4-C4 F8 I2 Reactions

Induction and Stabilization of Columnar Mesophases in Fluorinated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Arene-Perfluoroarene Interactions

The straightforward synthesis of several Fluorinated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by the efficient, transition-metal-free, arene fluorine nucleophilic substitution reaction is described, and the full investigation of their liquid crystalline and optical properties reported. The key precursors for this study, i. e. 2,2'-dilithio-4,4',5,5'-tetraalkoxy-1,1'-biphenyl derivatives, were obtained in two steps from the highly selective Scholl oxidative homo-coupling of 3,4-dialkoxy-1-bromobenzene, followed by quantitative double-lithiation. In situ room temperature nucleophilic annulation with either perfluorobenzene or perfluoronaphthalene leads to 1,2,3,4-tetrafluoro-6,7,10,11-tetraalkxoytriphenylenes and 9,10,11,12,13,14-hexafluoro-2,3,6,7-tetraalkoxybenzo[f]tetraphenes, respectively, in good yields. Exploiting the same strategy, subsequent double annulations resulted in the formation of 9,18-difluoro-2,3,6,7,11,12,15,16-octa(alkoxy)tribenzo[f,k,m]tetraphenes and 9,10,19,20-tetrafluoro-2,3,6,7,12,13,16,17-octakis(hexyloxy)tetrabenzo[a,c,j,l]tetracenes, respectively. Despite the presence of only four alkoxy chains, the polar "Janus" mesogens display a columnar hexagonal mesophase over broad temperature ranges, with higher mesophase stability than the archetypical 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexa(alkoxy)triphenylenes and their hydrogenated counterparts. The improvement or induction of mesomorphism is attributed to efficient antiparallel face-to-face π-stacking driven by the establishment of non-covalent perfluoroarene-arene intermolecular interactions. The larger lipophilic discotic π-extended compounds also exhibit columnar mesomorphism, over similar temperature ranges and stability than their hydrogenated homologs. Finally, these fluorinated molecules form stringy gels in various solvents, and show interesting solvatochromic emission properties in solution as well as strong emission in thin films and gels.

Modern methods for the synthesis of perfluoroalkylated aromatics

Perfluoroalkyl-containing substances (PFAS), have become omnipresent materials in the modern world for both commercial and research applications. Compounds such as perfluoroalkylated arenes and heteroarenes have found uses in surfactants, lubricants, and flame retardants as a result of their astonishing chemical stability. Consequently, the synthesis of such compounds encompasses a large body of scientific articles and patents developed in the previous century. Most recent reviews on this subject have thus focused on summarizing this traditional literature, and have thereby spurred the development of a new wave of reaction manifolds employing modern synthesis principles. This new generation of methodologies focuses on the greener synthesis of perfluoroalkylated aromatic scaffolds, through the use of more efficient organometallic reactions, as well as by photochemical and electrochemical strategies. Herein, we will summarize this cohort of reactions while highlighting current challenges and future desirable outcomes for their environmentally friendly synthesis.

Electrochemically driven, cobalt–carbon bond-mediated direct intramolecular cyclic and acyclic perfluoroalkylation of (hetero)arenes using X(CF2)4X

A proof-of-concept for synthetically challenging cyclic and acyclic perfluoroalkylation of (hetero)arenes driven by the valence change of a cobalt catalyst with X(CF₂)₄X is demonstrated.

Fluorination-Induced Evolution of Columnar Packing in Fluorous Triphenylenes and Benzotriphenylenes

Use of D_3h -symmetrical triphenylene (TRPH) as a substrate for high-temperature radical reactions with C₄ F₈ I₂ under varying conditions resulted in the introduction of four types of fluorinated substituents: ω-C₄ F₈ H, c-C₄ F₈ , c-C₄ F₄ , and c-C₄ HF₃ . In contrast to the previous work on direct (poly)substitutions with R_F groups in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in this work regiospecificity, selectivity, and high yield were achieved for TRPH(C₄ F₈ ) and TRPH(C₄ F₈ )₃ . New single-crystal structural data for seven compounds combined with literature crystallographic data allowed for the first detailed and precise analysis of the effects of fluorous substituent types, their number, and their position(s) on the TRPH core on the solid-state packing, and more specifically, the degree of π-π overlap between neighboring molecules, which is linked to charge transport properties. Comparison of isostructural partially fluorinated benzotriphenylenes, 2,3-TRPH(C₄ F₄ ) and 2,3-TRPH(C₄ HF₃ ), revealed an unexpectedly large (30 %) drop of π-π overlap, when only one fluorine atom was replaced with the hydrogen atom in a C₄ F₄ moiety. Theoretical and potentially practical implications of this work may include further testing and elaboration of computational methods describing solid-state interactions and predictions of transport properties of organic semiconductors, and further advances in the molecular design of high-performing TRPH-based organic materials and supramolecular architectures for organic optoelectronics.

Isothiocyanation of amines using the Langlois reagent

The Langlois reagent was found to be effective for the isothiocyanation of primary amines in the presence of copper iodide and diethyl phosphonate.

Versatile Route to Arylated Fluoroalkyl Bromide Building Blocks

New difunctionalized and fluoroalkylated silyl reagents have been prepared that react with silver and copper salts to afford active catalysts that can be used to synthesize arylated fluoroalkyl bromide building blocks. It has been shown that the [(phen)Ag(CF2)nBr] intermediates are capable of transferring both the phenanthroline ligand and the fluoroalkyl bromide chain to copper iodide, eliminating the need for a preligated copper salt precursor. The methodology is compatible with various chain lengths of the fluoroalkyl halide functionality.