Highly twisted arenes by scholl cyclizations with unexpected regioselectivity

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201105105

Let's twist! The Scholl reaction with quinquephenyl derivatives has been shown to have an unexpectedly strong preference for forming twisted, helicene aromatic polycycles, instead of their flat counterparts. This tendency is so strong that it will overcom

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201105105

Communications
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201105105
Synthetic Methods
Highly Twisted Arenes by Scholl Cyclizations with Unexpected
Regioselectivity
Anirban Pradhan, Pierre Dechambenoit, Harald Bock, and Fabien Durola*
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been an
important focus of organic synthesis for over a century.[1]
Current interest in PAHs is centered on their value as building
blocks for carbon nanoribbons[2] and graphenes,[3] mainly
because of their known or foreseen utility in organic
electronics.[4] Whereas innovative, top-down syntheses allow
the formation of giant graphene molecules,[5] bottom-up
strategies are preferred for the reproducible synthesis of
monodisperse and physically homogeneous nanographenes.[6]
Whatever the global synthetic strategy, in most cases the last
step is similar: a highly conjugated but flexible molecule has
to be “graphenized”, that is, transformed into a rigid,
À
polycyclic, aromatic plate by the formation of several C C
bonds between adjacent aromatic rings. Photocyclization of
stilbene-based precursors seems to be a satisfying solution for
small substrates,[7] but subsequent reactivity with bigger
molecules is rarely predictable. Therefore, intramolecular
Scheme 1. Regioselectivity of the Scholl cyclization of the o,p,o-quin-
quephenyl derivative 1, recently reported by Mꢀllen and co-workers.[12]
Scholl reactions, that is dehydrocyclizations with acidic
oxidants such as FeCl3 or DDQ/MeSO3H,[9] are usually
[8]
preferred.
The reactivity and regioselectivity of intramolecular
Scholl reactions remain only partially predictable. Not every
polyphenylene configuration can be graphenized, mainly
because of incomplete reactions,[10] and sometimes because
of unexpected rearrangements.[11] In addition, some exper-
imentally determined regioselectivity remains unexplained
(Scheme 1).[12] Despite a slightly higher steric hindrance, the
intramolecular Scholl condensation of compound 1 was
reported to lead exclusively to tribenzoperylene 2b, instead
of the benzenoid tetrabenzanthracene 2a.
To form the tetrabenzanthracene core by forcing a
transoid double cyclization through steric hindrance, we
synthesized the tetrasubstituted quinquephenyl 3.[13] In this
case, the bulky tert-butyl groups generate strong steric
hindrance when the molecule is in the cisoid conformation
(Scheme 2). We were puzzled to find that this considerable
steric hindrance seemed to have only a weak, if any, influence
on the regioselectivity of this particular Scholl reaction.
Tetrabenzanthracene 4a was formed in only 8% yield,
whereas dibenzopicene (or dibenzo[5]helicene) 4b was
obtained in 80% yield. Relative to the case described in
Scheme 1, the only striking effect of steric hindrance in the
Scheme 2. Unexpected regioselectivity of a Scholl reaction in favor of a
highly congested [5]helicene.
Scholl reaction of 3 is the absence of the third dehydrocyc-
lization to form a tribenzoperylene. This result was confirmed
by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Compound 4a is more symmetrical
than 4b, and a significant shielding effect (an upfield shift of
d = 0.4 ppm) was detected for the resonance of the protons of
the two tert-butyl groups at the helicene bay entrance of 4b.
This shift suggests that the two tert-butyl substituents are
facing an aromatic ring.
[*] A. Pradhan, Dr. P. Dechambenoit, Dr. H. Bock, Dr. F. Durola
Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal
CNRS & Universitꢁ de Bordeaux
115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac (France)
E-mail: durola@crpp-bordeaux.cnrs.fr
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201105105.
12582
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 12582 –12585

To take advantage of this unexpected reactivity, and
to explore the limits of this path for accessing highly distorted
polycyclic aromatic cores, we turned our attention to mole-
cules incorporating several helicene units, in particular
hexabenzotriphenylene (HBTP, 5). HBTP is the smallest
molecule that contains three [5]helicene units. As a result of
its triple helicity, HBTP has four stereoisomers
(Scheme 3).[14b,e] When the three helicene fragments have
the same configuration, (+) or (À), HBTP has D3 symmetry,
butylbiphenyl (6) was brominated with bromine in chloro-
form at 708C without any catalyst, to give 2-bromo-4,4’-di-
tert-butylbiphenyl (7) in a high yield. Through an organo-
lithium-mediated procedure, the bromo substituent was then
replaced by a boronic ester function, to give compound 8.
Compound 8 was then treated with 1,3,5-tribromobenzene
and a catalytic amount of [Pd(PPh3)4] to give 9 in good yield
(76%), despite the three Suzuki cross-coupling reactions.
Finally, 9 was dissolved in anhydrous, degassed dichloro-
methane and a solution of FeCl3 in nitromethane was added
slowly, with argon vigorously bubbling through the solution to
remove HCl from the mixture. After one hour, the reaction
was quenched with an alcohol (methanol or ethanol) and the
crude product was purified by column chromatography. Two
very closely eluting products were isolated and identified. The
major product was a racemic mixture of pure 11, which was
obtained in 63% yield. The three-bladed propeller shape of
11 had D3 symmetry, which made it easy to identify through
its 1H NMR spectrum of only four signals. Surprisingly,
isomers of 11 with C2 symmetry were not obtained. Such
isomers were isolated in metal-catalyzed syntheses of unsub-
stituted HBTP,[14c–e] and were shown by NMR spectroscopy to
[14d]
convert into the more stable D3 species when heated.
However, in the case of the more hindered 11, such a
conversion may be sterically impeded at room temperature,
making it unlikely that the C2 species is formed initially. It
follows that the topological path of the Scholl reaction is
distinctively different from that of the metal-catalyzed cyclo-
trimerization of polycyclic arynes.
The minor product 10, which was obtained impure with an
estimated yield of 25% for the last step, is a tetrabenzan-
thracene which resulted from a transoid second dehydrocyc-
lization. This structure was determined by 2D 1H NMR
Scheme 3. The four isomers of hexabenzotriphenylene (HBTP).
and these two enantiomers
are propeller-shaped mole-
cules. When one helicene
unit is different from the
two others, the resulting
two HBTP enantiomers
have C2 symmetry.
The synthesis of unsub-
stituted HBTP has already
been described.[14] The most
efficient method is a strategy
based on cyclotrimerization
of
a
polycyclic aryne.[14d]
Substituted HBTPs have
not yet been reported, and
partial graphenizations of
hexaphenylbenzene-based
species have never led to
HBTP.[10,15]
Hexa-tert-butylhexaben-
zotriphenylene
(tBu6-
HBTP) 11 was obtained
after a four-step synthesis,
starting from commercially
Scheme 4. Synthesis of highly distorted tBu6-HBTP (11): a) Br2, CHCl3, 708C, 16 h, 69% yield. b) BuLi, THF,
À788C, 15 min, then B(OMe)(pinacol), THF, À788C to RT, 1 h, 75% yield. c) [Pd(PPh3)4], Na2CO3, PhMe,
H2O, EtOH, 908C, 48 h, 76% yield. d) FeCl3, MeNO2, CH2Cl2, bubbling Ar, RT, 1 h, EtOH, 63% yield of
available
compounds
(Scheme 4).
4,4’-Di-tert- isolated 11, 25% yield of 10 (estimated by NMR spectroscopy).
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 12582 –12585
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Communications
(COSY and NOESY) spectroscopy. This side product was
carbons were preferentially formed, whereas the correspond-
ing flat and more symmetrical isomers were only obtained as
minor by-products. These results indicate that trying to
influence the regioselectivity of Scholl reactions by incorpo-
rating bulky groups into the flexible polyphenylene precur-
sors may not be as efficient as expected. In addition,
particular attention must be paid when analyzing products
of dehydrocyclizations, and no isomer should be neglected as
a possibility when adjacent benzene rings can react in several
ways. Our results, especially the efficient Scholl synthesis of
highly twisted, triply helical 11, suggest that the Scholl
reaction can be considered for the synthesis of helicenes
and other highly strained polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
which have recently become the targets of considerable
synthetic efforts.[16]
substituted with an alkoxy group during the quenching of the
reaction with an alcohol. The origin of this substituent was
confirmed by changing the nature of the quenching alcohol,
which led to the incorporation of a different alkoxy group.
Monocrystals of 11 were obtained as large yellow needles
by slow diffusion of methanol in dichloromethane. Analysis of
these crystals by X-ray diffraction showed the distortion of 11
in the solid state (Figure 1). In single crystals of 11·3CH2Cl2
Received: July 20, 2011
Revised: October 6, 2011
Published online: November 4, 2011
Keywords: arenes · helicenes · polycycles · regioselectivity ·
.
Scholl reaction
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Figure 1. Crystal structure of tBu6-HBTP (11): two different views of a
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ꢀ
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À
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Supporting Information.
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