Direct Synthesis of Benzoselenophene and Benzothiophene Derivatives from 1,1-Diarylethenes and Biaryls by Chalcogen Cation-Mediated Successive Bond Formation

A Tf2O-mediated sequential C-Se bond-forming reaction of 1,1-diarylethenes and biaryls with methaneselenic acid has been developed. Upon demethylation workup with ethanolamine, the corresponding benzoselenophene derivatives are obtained directly. The related synthesis of benzothiophene derivatives with sodium methanesulfinate is also possible with the unique assistance of the ball milling technique. The active species is considered to be a highly electrophilic chalcogen cation, which enables successive bond formation even at room temperature.

Polycyclic Arene-Fused Selenophenes via Site Selective Selenocyclization of Arylethynyl Substituted Polycyclic Arenes

Arene-fused selenophenes were synthesized by a redox neutral process from arylethynyl substituted polycyclic arenes using selenium powder in refluxing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) with the assistance of the residual water in NMP as a catalytic proton source. The site-selective nature of this selenocyclization produces trans-alkenes as a competitive product, which is dependent on the π-electron donation ability of polycyclic arenes and the kind of arylethynyl group attached to it. DFT calculations were performed to understand the site selectivity in the selenophene formation reaction. The HOMO coefficient on the carbon adjacent to carbon having arylalkyne substituent of the polycyclic arene correlates with the selenocyclization tendency of the substrate. The wavelength of absorption and emission and quantum yield of emission increase with increasing the number of fused benzene rings in the polycyclic unit (from naphthalene to pyrene).

First example of solid-state luminescent borasiloxane-based chiral helices assembled through N-B bonds

The reaction between differently substituted borasiloxanes and 2,5-bis(3-pyridylethynyl)thiophene provided the first example of luminescent borasiloxane-based chiral helices held together by N-B bonds. The starting building blocks and the helices were fully characterized, and the nature of the N-B bond rationalized by means of theoretical calculations.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Selenophenes and Their Derivatives

The selenophene derivatives are an important class of selenium-based heterocyclics. These compounds play an important role in prospecting new drugs, as well as in the development of new light-emitting materials. During the last years, several methods have been emerging to access the selenophene scaffold, employing a diversity of cyclization-based synthetic strategies, involving specific reaction partners and particularities. This review presents a comprehensive discussion on the recent advances in the synthesis of selenophene-based compounds, starting from different precursors, highlighting the main differences, the advantages, and limitations among them.

Benzo[b]selenophene/thieno[3,2-b]indole-Based N,S,Se-Heteroacenes for Hole-Transporting Layers

Two series of new N,S,Se-heteroacenes, namely, 6H-benzo[4',5']selenopheno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indoles and 12H-benzo[4″,5″]selenopheno[2″,3″:4',5']thieno[2',3'4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indoles, were successfully obtained using an effective strategy based on Fiesselmann thiophene and Fischer indole synthesis. The new molecules exhibit a large optical band gap (2.82 eV < E _g ^opt < 3.23 eV) and their highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy formed by the plane π-core ranges between -5.2 and -5.6 eV, with the narrower optical band gap and lower HOMO level corresponding to selenated heteroacenes. In thin solid films of the heteroacenes, hole mobility measured using the conventional CELIV technique ranges between 10^-5 and 10^-4 cm²·V^-1·s^-1. All these make the proposed condensed-ring compounds a promising platform for the development of hole-transporting materials applicable in organic electronics.

Synthesis of fused chalcogenophenocarbazoles: towards dual emission resulting from hybridized local and charge-transfer states

Fused chalcogenophenocarbazoles exhibit fluorescence resulting from recombination of either locally excited, intramolecular charge-transfer or hybridized local and charge-transfer (HLCT) states.

Synthesis of 2,3-bis-organochalcogenyl-benzo[b]chalcogenophenes promoted by Oxone®

We report here an alternative and tunable metal-free synthesis of benzo[b]chalcogenophenes via the electrophilic cyclization of 2-functionalized chalcogenoalkynes promoted by Oxone®.

Chemistry and spectroscopy of cross-conjugated and pseudo-cross-conjugated quinolinium-ethynyl-benzoate mesomeric betaines

The three isomers 1-methylquinolinium-2-, 3-, and 4-ethynyl(phenyl-4-carboxylates) belong to two distinct types of heterocyclic mesomeric betaines. The quinolinium substituted in position 3 is a cross-conjugated mesomeric betaine (CCMB), whereas the quinolinium derivatives substituted in positions 2 and 4 are members of the class of pseudo-cross-conjugated mesomeric betaines (PCCMBs). While the charges are strictly separated within the common π-electron system of the CCMB according to the canonical formulae, the charges are effectively but not exclusively delocalized in the PCCMBs because cumulenoid resonance forms including electron sextet structures without external octet stabilization can be formed in accordance with the definition of PCCMBs. As a consequence, despite being closely related structures, the three isomers differ in their chemical and spectroscopic behaviors. Thus, on trying to hydrolyze the ester group of the methyl quinolinium-2-ethynyl-benzoate into the corresponding acid by subsequent treatment with sodium hydroxide in methanol and aqueous hydrochloric acid at pH 3, the acetal methyl 1,1-dimethoxy-2-(quinolinium-ylidene)ethyl]benzoate and the corresponding β-enamino carbonyl compound were formed, respectively. The corresponding acids of the 2- and 4-substituted quinolinium-ethynyl-benzoates were obtained by a modified procedure. On deprotonation, the resulting cross-conjugated quinolinium-3-ethynyl-benzoate betaine proved to be stable, whereas the corresponding pseudo-cross-conjugated quinolinium-2- and -4-ethynyl-benzoate betaines decomposed. Frontier orbital profiles were calculated, and IR and Raman spectra of the starting materials were measured and calculated to analyze the differences of CCMBs and PCCMBs of mesomeric betaines possessing triple bonds. A higher contribution of the cumulenoid resonance forms to the overall structure of the PCCMBs was determined.

Natural-Antioxidant-Inspired Benzo[b]selenophenes: Synthesis, Redox Properties, and Antiproliferative Activity

The cyclization of arylalkynes under selenobromination conditions, combined with an acid-induced 3,2-aryl shift, was elaborated as a general synthetic pathway for the preparation of polyhydroxy-2- and -3-arylbenzo[b]selenophenes from the same starting materials. The redox properties, free-radical-scavenging ability, and cytotoxicity against malignant cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HepG2, and 4T1) of the synthesized compounds were explored, and the obtained results were used to consider the structure-activity relationships (SARs) in these compounds. Consequently, the structural features that were responsible for the highly potent peroxyl-radical-scavenging activity were established.

One-pot two-step synthesis of N-arylcarbazole-based skeleton

A highly site-selective, one-pot, sequential C–N and C–C bond forming process was developed, affording a carbazole-based skeleton that contains biphenyl and diarylacetylene cores.