Lifen Peng

Dihalo-Substituted Dibenzopentalenes: Their Practical Synthesis and Transformation to Dibenzopentalene Derivatives

Diiodo- and bromo, iodo-substituted dibenzopentalenes were obtained by treatment of 5,6,11,12-tetradehydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene with I(2) and IBr, respectively. These dihalo-substituted pentalenes reacted with terminal ethynes in Sonogashira coupling and with arylboronic acid in Suzuki-Miyaura coupling to give a series of phenylethynyl- and/or aryl-substituted pentalenes. Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of the halopentalenes with in situ prepared pentaleneboronic esters provided bis-, tri-, and tetra(dibenzopentalene)s. It was found that these dibenzopentalene oligomers underwent facile electrochemical reduction and exhibited a bathochromic shift in UV-vis absorption spectra because of their expanded π-systems.

Image Distortions of a Partially Fluorinated Hydrocarbon Molecule in Atomic Force Microscopy with Carbon Monoxide Terminated Tips

The underlying mechanisms of image distortions in atomic force microscopy (AFM) with CO-terminated tips are identified and studied in detail. AFM measurements of a partially fluorinated hydrocarbon molecule recorded with a CO-terminated tip are compared with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations. The hydrogenated and fluorinated carbon rings in the molecule appear different in size, which primarily originates from the different extents of their π-electrons. Further, tilting of the CO at the tip, induced by van der Waals forces, enlarges the apparent size of parts of the molecule by up to 50%. Moreover, the CO tilting in response to local Pauli repulsion causes a significant sharpening of the molecule bonds in AFM imaging.

One-Pot Transformation of Ph2P(O)-Protected Ethynes: Deprotection Followed by Transition Metal-Catalyzed Coupling

Ph2P(O)-protected ethynes were successfully transformed to arylethynes in one-pot manner through t-BuOK-catalyzed deprotection followed by Sonogashira coupling with aryl halide. The arylethynes were obtained similarly by Ph2P(O)-deprotection, stannylation of the resulting terminal ethynes, and Migita-Kosugi-Stille coupling. Deprotection followed by intramolecular Eglinton coupling could be carried out in one-pot to provide cyclic butadiynes.

Substituted 5,6,11,12-Tetradehydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctenes: Syntheses, Properties, and DFT Studies of Substituted Sondheimer–Wong Diynes

Highly strained cyclic acetylenes 5,6,11,12-tetradehydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctenes (Sondheimer-Wong diynes) having various substituents on their benzene rings were synthesized successfully by one-pot treatment of the corresponding formyl sulfones with diethyl chlorophosphate/lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS) and then lithium diisopropylamide (LDA). When mixtures of two types of formyl sulfones bearing different substituents were subjected to this protocol, the unsymmetrically substituted Sondheimer-Wong diynes could be synthesized in a stepwise manner by isolation of the heterocoupled vinyl sulfone intermediates followed by their treatment with LDA. The UV-vis absorption spectra and cyclic voltammograms of the substituted Sondheimer-Wong diynes were recorded. The electronic effect of substituents on the diynes was investigated in their click reactions and nucleophilic and electrophilic additions.

One-Shot Double Amination of Sondheimer–Wong Diynes: Synthesis of Photoluminescent Dinaphthopentalenes

Photoluminescent diamino-substituted dinaphthopentalenes were synthesized successfully by the treatment of in situ prepared dinaphthocyclooctadiyne with lithium amide. This reaction involves a series of transformations including the nucleophilic addition of the lithium amide to a triple bond of the cyclooctadiyne moiety, transannulation, protonation of the resulting pentalene anion, and the nucleophilic substitution of the pentalene core with the lithium amide. In this procedure, a novel double amination step plays a key role. When the diamino-substituted dinaphthopentalenes were irradiated with UV light in toluene, fluorescence was observed at around 580 nm (ΦF < 0.03).

Remarkable electron-withdrawing effect of the Ph2P(O)-ethynyl group: Ph2P(O)-ethynyl-substituted aryl halides and copper acetylides for tailor-made Sonogashira couplings

The electronic effect of the Ph2P(O)-ethynyl group in Sonogashira couplings was investigated. Ph2P(O)-ethynylphenyl iodide showed higher reactivity than diiodobenzene because of the electron-withdrawing effect of the Ph2P(O) group. Copper acetylide, which was prepared in situ from Ph2P(O)-ethyne, exhibited poor nucleophilicity and reacted with aryl iodides in Sonogashira couplings, but did not react with aryl bromides. This high selectivity enabled practical syntheses of a cyclic phenyleneethynylene and unsymmetrically substituted 9,10-bis(ethynyl)anthracenes.

Diacetylene Linked Anthracene Oligomers Synthesized by One-Shot Homocoupling of Trimethylsilyl on Cu(111)

On-surface chemical reaction has become a very powerful technique to conjugate small precursor molecules and several reactions have been proposed with the aim to fabricate functional nanostructures on surfaces. Here we present an unforeseen adsorption mode of 9,10-bis((trimethylsilyl)ethynyl)anthracene on a Cu(111)surface and the resulting one-shot desilylative homocoupling of of the adsorbate by annealing at 400 K. With a combination of high-resolution atomic force microscopy and density functional theory calculations, we found that the triple bonds and silicon atoms of the monomer chemically interact with the copper surface. After the oligomerization, we discovered that the anthracene units are linked to each other via buta-1,3-diynediyl fragments while keeping the surface clean. Furthermore, the force measurement revealed the chemical nature at the center of anthracene unit.