Jun-ichi Aihara

Macrocyclic conjugation pathways in porphyrins.

Macrocyclic aromaticity is the most important concept in porphyrinoid chemistry. Bond resonance energy (BRE) for any pi-bond linking adjacent pyrrolic or other rings represents the stabilization energy due to macrocyclic aromaticity. We found that a main conjugation pathway associated with macrocyclic aromaticity can be traced by choosing a pi-bond with a larger BRE at every bifurcation of the pi-network. All pi-bonds located along the main conjugation pathway are intensified with large positive BREs compared with those located along the bypasses. On the other hand, a main destabilization pathway associated with macrocyclic antiaromaticity can be traced by choosing a pi-bond with a smaller BRE at every bifurcation of the pi-network. Macrocyclic conjugation pathways thus determined are fully consistent with the chemical shifts of protons attached to the macrocycle.

A Simple Method for Estimating the Superaromatic Stabilization Energy of a Super-Ring Molecule

A simple graph-theoretical method is proposed for readily estimating the degree of extra stabilization due to macrocyclic conjugation (superaromaticity). This method is based theoretically on the concept of circuit resonance energy previously defined for cyclic pi systems. We confirmed that kekulene and related super-ring molecules are essentially nonsuperaromatic, with very small superaromatic stabilization energies.

Unusually High Aromaticity and Diatropicity of Bond-Alternate Benzene

Enormous effort has been devoted to the elucidation of possible effects of bond-length alternation on the benzene pi-system. Benzene tends to stay highly aromatic and highly diatropic even if strong bond-length alternation is introduced artificially into the pi-system. Such peculiar aromatic and magnetic characters of benzene were justified consistently and unambiguously within a single theoretical framework. From all physically sound points of view, bond-alternate benzene is highly aromatic with a large aromatic stabilization energy. We confirmed that in the annulene family benzene is least sensitive in aromaticity to bond-length alternation.

Antiaromatic holes in graphene and related graphite defects

New examples of polycyclic alternant hydrocarbon (PAH) series having doubly degenerate zero eigenvalues (NBMOs) are presented and their electronic and topological characteristics studied. The lowest singlet-states of these PAHs have exceptionally large macrocyclic antiaromatic contributions. Antiaromatic holes in graphene cones and saddles are defined as those holes with inner perimeters corresponding to 4annulene-, 8annulene-, and 12annulene-shaped polygons in which the corresponding molecule has doubly degenerate zero eigenvalues.

Origin of stacked-ring aromaticity.

Although strong diatropic currents run in the pi-stacked dimers of 4n pi annulenes, they are still antiaromatic with negative topological resonance energies (TREs). The TRE difference between two annulene molecules and the pi-stacked annulene dimer can be used as a practical measure of stacked-ring aromaticity. As predicted by Corminboeuf et al., all pi-stacked 4n pi annulene dimers exhibit marked stacked-ring aromaticity. In contrast, the TRE for the entire conjugated system of a pi-stacked benzene dimer is much smaller than twice the TRE for benzene. The analysis of circuit contributions to energetic and magnetic properties shows that such stacked-ring aromaticity and diatropicity arise from many (4n + 2)-site circuits created by the stacking of two antiaromatic rings. Tetragonal faces formed in the dimers are responsible for the creation of these (4n + 2)-site circuits.

Aromaticity and Diatropicity of Polyacenequinododimethides

Typical polyacenequinododimethides exist only in a single classical structure. These hydrocarbons are moderately aromatic and diatropic, although they have no aromatic conjugated circuits. This apparent dichotomy was resolved with our graph theory of aromaticity and magnetotropicity. Many nonconjugated circuits were found to contribute collectively to aromaticity and diatropicity. For individual molecules, local aromaticity increases with distance from the exo-methylene groups. This fact indicates that the conjugated-circuit model is not always applicable to semibenzenoid hydrocarbons such as polyacenequinododimethides.

Macrocyclic conjugation in N-fused porphyrins and related species

AbstractMacrocyclic aromaticity is the most important concept in porphyrin chemistry. We propose a general graph-theoretical procedure for predicting the main macrocyclic conjugation pathway in porphyrinoids. This procedure, based on calculated bond resonance energies (BREs), can be applied not only to natural and expanded porphyrins but also to porphyrinoids with fused rings. Main macrocyclic conjugation pathways predicted with this procedure are exactly the same as those proposed by porphyrin chemists. Macrocyclic aromaticity can be estimated readily from the BRE for any of the π-bonds linking adjacent pyrrolic rings. It was found that N-fusion often gives rise to anti-aromatic tripentacyclic subunits with negative BREs. Thus, our procedure properly characterizes macrocyclic conjugation and macrocyclic aromaticity in a wide variety of porphyrinoids.n FigureMain macrocyclic conjugation pathway and bond resonance energies in units of |β|