Organometallics
ARTICLE
’ EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
5,11-Bis(biphenyl-4-yl)tetracene (4c). Yield: 93%. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
CDCl3): δ (ppm) 8.48 (s, 2H), 7.94À7.91 (m, 4H), 7.88À7.79 (m, 4H),
7.73 (d, J = 7.8 Hz, 4H), 7.65 (d, J = 7.7 Hz, 4H), 7.60À7.52 (m, 4H), 7.45
(t J = 7.4 Hz, 2H), 7.36À7.29 (m, 4H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): δ
(ppm) 140.9, 140.3, 138.1, 136.7, 136.5, 132.0, 131.1, 129.4, 129.1, 129.0,
128.9, 128.5, 128.2, 127.5, 127.2, 125.4, 124.8. MS (EI): m/z 532 [M+].
HPLC (λ = 280 nm, method A): tR = 26.7 min.
General Methods. 1H and 13C NMR spectra were recorded at 400
and 100 MHz, respectively, on a Varian Inova spectrometer. Chemical
shifts (δ) are reported in ppm relative to TMS. HPLC studies were
carried out with a reverse-phase column (ZORBAX-Eclipse XDB-C8
Agilent Technologies) using the following conditions. Method A: H2O/
MeCN from 90/10 to 0/100 in 20 min, flow 0.5 mL/min, T = 30 °C.
Method B: H2O/MeCN from 70/30 to 20/80 in 8 min, flow 0.4 mL/
min, T = 30 °C. All starting materials were purchased from Aldrich,
Acros, or ABCR and used as received. Electrochemical analyses were
carried out in a one-compartment three-electrode cell using a Biologic
VSP Potentiostat (Grenoble, France). Dichloromethane (SDS, ProLa-
bo, HPLC grade) and the supporting electrolyte, tetrabutylammonium
hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6, Aldrich, electrochemical grade), were
used without further purification. EC-Lab Express software supplied by
BioLogic was used for data acquisition. Electrochemical analyses were
performed using a platinum disk (outer diameter 1.6 mm) as the
working electrode, a stainless steel grid as the counter electrode, and a
saturated calomel electrode (SCE) as the reference electrode. Prior to
each analysis, the working electrode was carefully polished with diamond
paste (1 μm), rinsed with ethanol, and then air-dried. Cyclic voltam-
metry (CV) was carried out in dichloromethane containing the mono-
mer (5 Â 10À4 M) and tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate
electrolyte salt (10À1 M), by varying the potential between 0 and 1.3 V at
a potential scan rate of 50 mV sÀ1. Absorption and fluorescence spectra
were measured on 10À5 M CH2Cl2 solutions. UVÀvis absorption
spectra were measured with a Varian CARY 500 spectrophotometer.
Fluorescence spectra were measured on a SPEX Fluorolog-3 instrument
(Jobin-Yvon). Compounds 4aÀe were characterized by NMR and mass
spectroscopy and judged >95% pure, but no satisfying elemental
analyses could be obtained, due to their instability toward air oxidation.
General Procedure for the Synthesis of 5,11-Diaryltetra-
cene. In an oven-dried Schlenk tube, under an argon atmosphere, the
Pd complex PdCl2L2 (2.8 mg, 0.002 mmol, 3 mol %) was dissolved in
0.5 mL of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)-
imide ([bmpy][NTf2]) and the yellow, clear solution was stirred under
vacuum for a few minutes. Arylboronic acid (0.194 mmol, 3 equiv),
K3PO4 (0.260 mmol, 4 equiv), and 0.25 mL of degassed water were
added to the solution, and the reaction mixture was heated at 65À70 °C.
After a few minutes an orange homogeneous solution was formed. 5,11-
Dibromotetracene (3a; 25 mg, 0.065 mmol, 1 equiv) was added to the
reaction mixture, which was vigorously stirred at 65À70 °C until
complete consumption of the starting material (monitored by TLC).
After it was cooled to room temperature, the reaction mixture was taken
up with CH2Cl2, adsorbed on silica, and directly charged onto a silica gel
column. The desired product was isolated by elution with cyclohexane/
CH2Cl2 mixtures. During the whole process exposure to light and air
should be minimized in order to avoid the possible formation of oxidized
side products.
5,11-Bis(naphthalen-2-yl)tetracene (4d). Yield: 85%. 1H NMR
(400 MHz, CDCl3, mixture of two atropoisomers): δ (ppm) 8.43 (s,
2 H), 8.14 (s, 1.2 H), 8.18À8.14 (m, 2H), 8.09 (d, J = 10.5 Hz, 4H), 7.98
(d, J = 7.1 Hz, 2H), 7.80 (d, J = 8.5 Hz, 1H), 7.73À7.62 (m, 9H),
7.32À7.21 (m, 4H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3, mixture of two
atropoisomers): δ (ppm) 137.0, 136.9, 136.70, 136.69, 133.5, 132.9,
131.10, 131.06, 130.5, 130.43, 130.40, 129.8, 129.60, 129.57, 129.3, 129.2,
129.02, 128.97, 128.4, 128.2, 128.12, 128.09, 128.07, 128.0, 127.1, 126.6,
126.5, 126.34, 126.28, 126.1, 126.0, 125.8, 125.4, 125.2, 124.9, 124.8. MS
(EI): m/z 480 [M+]. HPLC (λ = 280 nm, method A): tR = 25.3 min.
Synthesis of 5,11-Bis(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxabor-
olan-2-yl)tetracene (6). In an oven-dried round-bottom flask
equipped with a reflux condenser, under an argon atmosphere, Pd-
(OAc)2 (4.4 mg, 0.019 mmol), bis(pinacolato)diboron (5; 148 mg,
0.582 mmol), KOAc (86 mg, 0.873 mmol), and 5,11-dibromotetracene
(3a; 75 mg, 0.194 mmol) were dissolved in 15 mL of anhydrous DMF
and heated at 80 °C for 7 h. The red solution turned yellow-green during
the reaction. The reaction mixture was then cooled to 0 °C, and 30 mL of
water was added. The aqueous layer was extracted twice with ethyl
acetate (30 mL). The collected organic phases were washed with brine,
dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated under vacuum. The crude prod-
uct was purified by flash chromatography using cyclohexane/CH2Cl2
(80/20) as the eluent (yellow solid, yield 84%). 1H NMR (400 MHz,
CDCl3): δ (ppm) 9.21 (s, 2H), 8.42 (d, 2H, J = 9.2 Hz), 7.97 (d, 2H,
J = 8.0 Hz), 7.45À7.36 (m, 4H), 1.66 (s, 24H). 13C NMR (100 MHz,
CDCl3): δ (ppm) 135.8, 133.4, 131.0, 130.4, 129.6, 128.1, 125.7, 124.5,
84.5, 25.2 (carbon attached to boron was not observed).18 MS (EI): m/z
481 [M+]. HPLC (λ = 280 nm, method B): tR = 21.3 min.
Suzuki Reaction with 5,11-Bis(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-
dioxaborolan-2-yl)tetracene (6). In an oven-dried Schlenk tube,
under an argon atmosphere, the Pd complex PdCl2L2 (1.9 mg, 0.0013
mmol, 3 mol %) was dissolved in 0.5 mL of [bmpy][NTf2] and
the yellow, clear solution was stirred under vacuum for a few minutes. 6
(21 mg, 0.044 mmol, 1 equiv), K3PO4 (0.176 mmol, 4 equiv), and
0.25 mL of degassed water were added to the solution, which was heated
at 65À70 °C. The aryl bromide (0.132 mmol, 3 equiv) was added to
the reaction mixture, which was vigorously stirred at 65À70 °C until
complete consumption of the diboronic ester (monitored by TLC).
After it was cooled to room temperature, the reaction mixture was taken
up with CH2Cl2, adsorbed on silica, and directly charged onto a silica gel
column. The desired product was isolated by elution with cyclohexane/
CH2Cl2 mixtures. During the whole process exposure to light and air
should be minimized in order to avoid the possible formation of oxidized
side products.
5,11-Diphenyltetracene (4a). Yield: 97%. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
CDCl3): δ (ppm) 8.36 (s, 2H), 7.83 (d, J = 8.5 Hz, 2H), 7.71À7.61
(m, 8H), 7.59À7.53 (m, 4H), 7.35À7.29 (m, 2H), 7.28À7.23 (m, 2H).
13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): δ (ppm) 139.1, 136.8, 131.5, 131.0,
129.4, 129.04, 128.96, 128.5, 127.6, 126.6, 125.9, 125.3, 124.7. MS (EI):
m/z 380 [M+]. HPLC (λ = 280 nm, method A): tR = 23.7 min.
5,11-Bis(4-methoxyphenyl)tetracene (4b). Yield: 94%. 1H NMR
(400 MHz, CDCl3): δ (ppm) 8.40 (s, 2H), 7.85 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H),
7.68 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.47 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 4H), 7.34À7.24 (m, 4H),
7.21 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 4H), 4.02 (s, 6H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): δ
(ppm) 159.1, 136.6, 132.6, 131.2, 131.0, 129.7, 129.5, 129.0, 126.7,
125.9, 125.2, 124.6, 114.0, 55.4. MS (EI): m/z 441 [M+]. HPLC
(λ = 280 nm, method A): tR = 23.0 min.
5,11-Bis(4-cyanophenyl)tetracene (4e). Yield: 37%. 1H NMR (400
MHz, CDCl3): δ (ppm) 8.25 (s, 2H), 7.99 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 4H), 7.86 (d,
J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.68 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 4H), 7.49 (d, J = 9.2 Hz, 2H),
7.40À7.32 (m, 4H). MS (EI): m/z 430 [M+].
’ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S
Supporting Information. Figures giving absorption and
b
fluorescence spectra, cyclic voltammograms, and H and 13C
1
NMR and mass spectra. This material is available free of charge
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/om2003943 |Organometallics 2011, 30, 4325–4329