Bradley L. Merner

Interplay of π-Electron Delocalization and Strain in [n](2,7)Pyrenophanes

The geometries of a series of [n](2,7)pyrenophanes (n = 6-12) were optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G** DFT level. The X-ray crystal structures determined for the [9](2,7)- and [10](2,7)pyrenophanes agreed excellently with the computed structures. The degree of nonplanarity of the pyrene moiety depends on the number of CH2 groups in the aliphatic bridge and, as analyzed theoretically, influences the strain energy and the extent of pi-electron delocalization in the pyrene fragment. Various indices, e.g., the relative aromatic stabilization energies (DeltaASE), magnetic susceptibility exaltations (Lambda), nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS), and the harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA) were used to quantify the change in aromatic character of the pyrene fragment. DeltaASE and relative Lambda values (with respect to planar pyrene) were evaluated by homodesmotic equations comparing the bent pyrene unit with its bent quinoid dimethylene-substituted analog. The bend angle, alpha, DeltaASE, and Lambda were linearly related. The aromaticity decreases smoothly and regularly over a wide range of bending, but the magnitude of the change is not large. The differences between planar pyrene (alpha = 0 degrees) and the most distorted pyrene unit (alpha = 39.7 degrees in [6](2,7)pyrenophane) are only 15.8 kcal/mol (DeltaASE) and 18.8 cgs-ppm (Lambda). Also, the geometry-based HOMA descriptor changes by only 0.07 unit. The local NICS descriptors of aromatic character also correlate very well with the global indices of aromaticity. In line with the known reactivity of pyrenophanes, the variations of NICS(1), a measure of pi-electron delocalization, were largest for the outer, biphenyl-type rings. The strain energies of the pyrene fragments were much larger and varied more than those evaluated for the bridge. Both strain energies were interrelated (correlation coefficient R = 0.979) and depend on the bend angle, alpha.

A Constrained Tricyclic Nucleic Acid Analogue of α-l-LNA: Investigating the Effects of Dual Conformational Restriction on Duplex Thermal Stability

A constrained tricyclic analogue of α-L-LNA (2), which contains dual modes of conformational restriction about the ribose sugar moiety, has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Thermal denaturation experiments of oligonucleotide sequences containing this tricyclic α-L-LNA analogue (α-L-TriNA 2, 5) indicate that this modification is moderately stabilizing when paired with complementary DNA and RNA, but less stabilizing than both α-L-LNA (2) and α-L-TriNA 1 (4).

Overcoming Strain-Induced Rearrangement Reactions: A Mild Dehydrative Aromatization Protocol for Synthesis of Highly Distorted p-Phenylenes

A series of p-terphenyl-based macrocycles, containing highly distorted p-phenylene units, have been synthesized. Biaryl bonds of the nonplanar p-terphenyl nuclei were constructed in the absence of Pd-catalyzed or Ni-mediated cross-coupling reactions, using 1,4-diketones as surrogates to strained arene units. A streamlined synthetic protocol for the synthesis of 1,4-diketo macrocycles has been developed, using only 2.5 mol % of the Hoveyda-Grubbs second-generation catalyst in both metathesis and transfer hydrogenation reactions. Under protic acid-mediated dehydrative aromatization conditions, the central and most strained benzene ring of the p-terphenyl systems was susceptible to rearrangement reactions. To overcome this, a dehydrative aromatization protocol using the Burgess reagent was developed. Under these conditions, no strain-induced rearrangement reactions occur, delivering p-phenylene units with up to 28.4 kcal/mol strain energy and deformation angles that sum up to 40°.

A Non-Cross-Coupling Approach to Arene-Bridged Macrocycles: Synthesis, Structure, and Direct, Regioselective Functionalization of a Cycloparaphenylene Fragment

A new synthetic strategy that employs a relatively unstrained, 1,4-diketo-bridged macrocycle as a precursor to a strained, 1,4-arene-bridged (bent para-phenylene) macrocycle has been developed. The distorted p-terphenyl nucleus (CPP fragment) of the macrocycle has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, and a direct, regioselective bromination protocol of the macrocyclic system is reported.

A Macrocyclic 1,4-Diketone Enables the Synthesis of a p-Phenylene Ring That Is More Strained than a Monomer Unit of [4]Cycloparaphenylene

The synthesis of a p-terphenyl-based macrocycle, containing a p-phenylene unit with 42.6 kcal/mol of strain energy (SE), is reported. The conversion of a macrocyclic 1,4-diketone to a highly strained arene system takes place over five synthetic steps, featuring iterative dehydrative reactions in the aromatization protocol. Spectroscopic data of the deformed benzenoid macrocycle are in excellent agreement with other homologues that have been reported, indicating that the central p-phenylene ring of 9 is aromatic.