Addition of Tetrahydrofuran to [60]Fullerene through C−H Bond Activation Induced by Arylzinc Reagents

Complementarity of solution and solid state mechanochemical reaction conditions demonstrated by 1,2-debromination of tricyclic imides

The solution phase 1,2-debromination of polycyclic imides using the Zn/Ag couple was successfully transferred to solid state mechanochemical conditions. The Zn/Ag couple was replaced by the Zn/Cu couple which was prepared without any metal activation by in situ ball milling of zinc and copper dusts. The advantage of the ball milling process is that the whole procedure is operationally very simplified. The reactive alkene generated was trapped in situ by several dienes and the respective Diels-Alder cycloadducts were obtained. It was demonstrated that mechanochemical milling offers complementary conditions to solution (thermal) reaction by allowing chemical transformations to proceed which were not possible in solution and vice versa.

Dimethylzinc-Initiated Radical Coupling of β-Bromostyrenes with Ethers and Amines

A new coupling reaction has been developed in which β-bromostyrenes react with ethers and tertiary amines to introduce the styryl group in the α-position. The transformation is mediated by Me2 Zn/O2 with 10 % MnCl2 and is believed to proceed by a radical addition-elimination mechanism. The ether and the amine are employed as solvent and the coupling takes place through the most stable α radical for unsymmetrical substrates. The products are obtained in moderate to good yields as the pure E isomers. The coupling can be achieved with a range of smaller cyclic and acyclic ethers/amines as well as various substituted β-bromostyrenes.

Unprecedented chemical reactivity of a paramagnetic endohedral metallofullerene La@C(s)-C82 that leads hydrogen addition in the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction

Synthesizing unprecedented diamagnetic adducts of an endohedral metallofullerene was achieved by using 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of paramagnetic La@C(s)-C82 with a simultaneous hydrogen addition. The selective formation of two main products, La@C(s)-C82HCMe2NMeCHPh (2a and 2b), was first detected by HPLC analysis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. 2a and 2b-O, which was readily formed by the oxidation of 2b, were isolated by multistep HPLC separation and were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D-NMR, UV-vis-NIR measurements and electrochemistry. The hydrogen atom was found to be connected to the fullerene cage directly in the case of 2a, and the redox behavior indicated that the C-H bond can still be readily oxidized. The reaction mechanism and the molecular structures of 2a and 2b were reasonably proposed by the interplay between experimental observations and DFT calculations. The feasible order of the reaction process would involve a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by the hydrogen addition through a radical pathway. It is concluded that the characteristic electronic properties and molecular structure of La@C(s)-C82 resulted in a site-selective reaction, which afforded a unique chemical derivative of an endohedral metallofullerene in high yields. Derivative 2a constitutes the first endohedral metallofullerene where the direct linking of a hydrogen atom has been structurally proven.

Synthesis of ortho acid ester-type 1,3-dioxolanofullerenes: radical reaction of [60]fullerene with halocarboxylic acids promoted by lead(IV) acetate

A lead(IV) acetate-promoted radical reaction of [60]fullerene with halocarboxylic acids has been exploited to synthesize rare ortho acid ester-type 1,3-dioxolanofullerenes, the hydroxyl group of which can be further transformed to an ester or ether group. Intriguingly, an ortho acid ester-type 1,3-dioxolanofullerene can also be converted to a 1,4-dioxanonofullerene in the presence of a base or manipulated to another ortho acid ester-type 1,3-dioxolanofullerene by reaction with a stronger halocarboxylic acid. Moreover, two possible reaction pathways leading to the observed products are also proposed.

Regioselective synthesis of 1,4-di(organo)[60]fullerenes through DMF-assisted monoaddition of silylmethyl Grignard reagents and subsequent alkylation reaction

Monoaddition of Grignard reagents, in particular tri(organo)silylmethylmagnesium chlorides, to [60]fullerene took place smoothly in the presence of dimethylformamide to produce (organo)(hydro)[60]fullerenes, C60R(1)H, in good yield (up to 93% isolated yield). The hydrofullerene was then deprotonated to generate the corresponding anion, C60R(-), which was then alkylated to obtain 58pi-electron di(organo)[60]fullerenes, C60R(1)R(2), in good to high yield (up to 93% overall yield). The two-step methodology provides a wide variety of 1,4-di(organo)[60] fullerenes bearing the same or different organic addends on the [60] fullerene core. By changing the addends, one can control the chemical and physical properties of the compounds at the molecular and bulk levels.