Synthesis of pentadecaphenylenes, their inclusion properties, and nanostructure formation with C60.

Synthesis of macrocyclic pentadecaphenylene was carried out via electron-transfer oxidation of the corresponding Lipshutz cuprate. Pentadecaphenylene self-aggregated in solution to form a gel. Furthermore, it incorporated C60 in its cavity to produce a fibrous inclusion complex which showed a high gelation ability in benzene.

Conjugated macrocycles: concepts and applications.

One of the most important objectives in materials, chemical, and physical sciences is the creation of large conjugated macrocycles with well-defined shapes, since such molecules are not only theoretically and experimentally interesting but also have potential applications in nanotechnology. Fully unsaturated macrocycles are regarded as models for infinitely conjugated π systems with inner cavities, and exhibit unusual optical and magnetic behavior. Macrocycles have interior and exterior sites, and site-specific substitution at both or either site can afford attractive structures, such as 1D, 2D, and 3D supramolecular nanostructures. These nanostructures could be controlled through the use of π-extended large macrocycles by a bottom-up strategy. Numerous shape-persistent π-conjugated macrocycles have been synthesized, but only a few are on the nanoscale. This Review focuses on nanosized π-conjugated macrocycles (>1 nm diameter) and giant macrocycles (>2 nm diameter), and summarizes their syntheses and properties.

Synthesis of nonaphenylenes and dodecaphenylenes using electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates and formation of nanostructural materials from hexadodecyloxynonaphenylene.

Nonaphenylenes and dodecaphenylenes have been synthesized by using electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates with duroquinone. Oxidation of the Lipshutz cuprate derived from 4,4''-dibromo-o-terphenyl 3a in THF produced nonaphenylene 1a in 46% yield, whereas the similar oxidation of the Lipshutz cuprates derived from 4,4''-diiodo-4',5'-dialkyl-o-terphenyls 3b-d in ether afforded the corresponding nonaphenylenes 1b-d and dodecaphenylenes 2b-d in moderate total yields. In the case of 4,4''-diiodo-4',5'-didodecyloxy-o-terphenyl 3e as the starting material, oxidation of the corresponding Lipshutz cuprate in ether or THF only led to the formation of nonaphenylene 1e. Both nonaphenylenes 1a-e and dodecaphenylenes 2b-d are unreactive to light, atmospheric oxygen, and prolonged heating. These oligophenylenes showed strong UV absorption and fluorescent emission and exhibited some redox properties on CV analysis. Moreover, hexadodecyloxynonaphenylene 1e exhibits different nanostructures on the surface and in solution to form a film by casting a solution of 1e in cyclohexane, benzene, chloroform, THF, or diisopropyl ether (IPE) and nanofibers from IPE-MeOH (1:1), indicating different absorption and emission spectra and XRD patterns. The absorption maxima of THF solution, fiber, and film are in the order of 1e film (315 nm) > fiber (302 nm) > solution (295 nm), whereas the emission maxima are in the order of 1e fiber (425 m) > solution (418 nm) > film (401 nm). XRD analysis revealed that 1e aligns laterally on a glass or silicon surface to form a thin film with a lamella structure; however, it forms a nanofiber with a Lego-like stacking structure without pi-pi stacking interaction of the aromatic rings. Reflecting the different nanostructures of the 1e film and fiber, a spin-coated 1e film is found to be effective in detecting the vapor of explosives due to the intercalation of nitroaromatics to the cracked surface of the loosely stacked 1e. In contrast, the 1e fiber is not effective in detection of nitroaromatics but exhibits fluorescence anisotropy. The maximum fluorescence intensity is obtained in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fiber, indicating the stacking direction to be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fiber.

Efficient construction of biaryls and macrocyclic cyclophanes via electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates.

An efficient method for the homocoupling of aryl halides by electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates (Ar2Cu(CN)Li2) with organic electron acceptors is disclosed. Thus, various types of Lipshutz cuprates are prepared by successive treatment of aryl or heteroaryl bromides with tert-butyllithium and CuCN. The electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates with p-benzoquinones proceeds smoothly to afford the corresponding homocoupling products in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, it can be applied to the construction of either thiophene- or benzene-fused 10-membered ring cyclophanes. For the synthesis of 10-membered cyclophanes, the linear C-Cu-C structure of Lipshutz cuprates should be maintained in the dimetallacyclic intermediates, producing the large ring cyclophanes efficiently. The X-ray analysis of the cyclophanes reveals that the difference in the bridging atoms results in the different conformations of the macrocyclic rings. Thus, the silicon-bridged cyclophane 5a adopts a D2-symmetric structure with a twisted rhombic arrangement of four thiophene rings, whereas the methylene- and oxygen-bridged cyclophanes 5b and 5c possess C2h- and C2-symmetric structures with chair- and boatlike conformations, respectively. The 1H NMR spectrum of C2-symmetric 5c is temperature-dependent, and the activation energy (DeltaG) for the conformational change is 10.1 kcal/mol.

Novel electron-transfer oxidation of Lipshutz cuprates with 1,4-benzoquinones: an efficient homo-coupling reaction of aryl halides and its application to the construction of macrocyclic systems.

The electron transfer reaction from Lipshutz cuprates, which can be easily prepared from aryl bromides, to 1,4-benzoquinones was found to proceed smoothly, affording either the corresponding homo-coupling products, in modest to excellent yields, or macrocyclic products selectively.