Flattened 1D fragments of fullerene C that exhibit robustness toward multi-electron reduction.

Fullerenes are compelling molecular materials owing to their exceptional robustness toward multi-electron reduction. Although scientists have attempted to address this feature by synthesizing various fragment molecules, the origin of this electron affinity remains unclear. Several structural factors have been suggested, including high symmetry, pyramidalized carbon atoms, and five-membered ring substructures.

Stereoselective Synthesis and Characterization of Indenone Azine-Based Electron-Accepting π-Conjugated Systems.

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Aiko Fukazawa at Kyoto University. The image depicts a N-N component replacing the one originally located between the exocyclic C=C bond of a cross-conjugated dibenzofulvalene. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Stereoselective Synthesis and Characterization of Indenone Azine-Based Electron-Accepting π-Conjugated Systems.

Indenone azines, in which the exocyclic C=C bond in dibenzopentafulvalene is replaced by an azine moiety (C=N-N=C), have been synthesized as novel electron-accepting π-conjugated scaffolds. Structural modulation at the 7,7'-positions of indenone azines enabled stereoselective syntheses of diastereomers in which the configurations of the two C=N bonds are E,E or Z,Z. X-ray crystallographic analyses revealed that all the indenone azines exhibit high coplanarity in contrast to the twisted frameworks of dibenzopentafulvalene derivatives, resulting in the formation of densely π-stacked structures.

Late-stage modification of π-electron systems based on asymmetric oxidation of a medium-sized sulfur-containing ring.

The asymmetric oxidation of a sulfur-containing nine-membered heterocycle was achieved for the late-stage introduction of chirality to the substituents of π-electron systems. The oxidation of the sulfur atom considerably influenced the phase-transition behaviour and crystallinity of the resulting π-electron systems.

Thiophene-Fused 1,4-Diazapentalene: A Stable C=N-Containing π-Conjugated System with Restored Antiaromaticity.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Junichi Usuba and Aiko Fukazawa at Kyoto and Nagoya Universities. The image depicts the strength of the antiaromaticity of the title compounds as the power of a phoenix. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Thiophene-Fused 1,4-Diazapentalene: A Stable C=N-Containing π-Conjugated System with Restored Antiaromaticity.

A thiophene-fused 1,4-diazapentalene (TAP) was rationally designed and synthesized as a C=N-containing 4n π-electron system that exhibits restored antiaromaticity impaired by the doping with C=N bonds. X-ray crystallographic analysis and quantum chemical calculations revealed that the annulation of thiophene rings with the 1,4-diazapentalene moiety resulted in a much higher antiaromaticity than the pristine 1,4-diazapentalene. These effects can be ascribed to the reduced bond alternation of the eight-membered-ring periphery caused by stabilization of the less-stable bond-shifted resonance structure upon increasing the degree of substitution of imine moieties.

Construction of Tricyclic Nitrogen Heterocycles by a Gold(I)-Catalyzed Cascade Cyclization of Allenynes and Application to Polycyclic π-Electron Systems.

A novel approach to the direct construction of tricyclic nitrogen heterocycles based on gold-catalyzed cascade cyclization of aminoallenynes is described. The expected biscyclization reaction of hydroxyisobutyryl-protected aminoallenynes was efficiently promoted by a catalytic amount of BrettPhosAuNTf in the presence of iPrOH to produce 1,2-dihydrobenzo[cd]indole derivatives in good yields. When the reaction was combined with Friedel-Crafts acylation or palladium-catalyzed N-arylation, the resulting tricyclic products were efficiently converted into nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (N-PACs) with highly conjugated π-electron systems.

Dithieno[a,e]pentalenes: Highly Antiaromatic Yet Stable π-Electron Systems without Bulky Substituents.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Aiko Fukazawa and co-workers at Kyoto University and Nagoya University. The image depicts the π-electrons as people to highlight the effect of fused aromatic rings in the antiaromatic π-electron systems. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Dithieno[a,e]pentalenes: Highly Antiaromatic Yet Stable π-Electron Systems without Bulky Substituents.

Dithieno[a,e]penalenes (DTPs) with various substituents were synthesized as a class of antiaromatic compounds. Annulation of thiophene rings imparts the pentalene moiety with high thermal stability even without bulky substituents, while retaining antiaromaticity. The higher magnitude of antiaromaticity in DTPs, in addition to the differences in the electronic structures of the fused aromatic rings, resulted in a narrower HOMO-LUMO gap than that of the corresponding dibenzo[a,e]pentalene analog, giving rise to red-shifted electronic absorption that reaches the near-infrared region.

Novel Aromatics: Official Special Issue of ISNA-18.

An aromatic celebration: ChemPlusChem is pleased to publish a Special Issue on Novel Aromatics, guest-edited by Aiko Fukazawa, Shinji Toyota, Rik Tykwinski, and Wallace Wong. This project is associated with the organizers of the 18th International Symposium on Novel Aromatic Compounds (ISNA-18), to be held in Sapporo, Japan (July 21-26, 2019). The issue features fascinating, top-quality contributions covering nearly all aspects of "aromatic" chemistry, including synthesis, properties, and applications of acenes, annulenes, azulenes, fullerenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and thiophenes as well as porphyrins, corroles, and phthalocyanines.

End-Capping π-Conjugated Systems with Medium-Sized Sulfur-Containing Rings: A Route Towards Solution-Processable Air-Stable Semiconductors.

The sulfur-containing nine-membered heterocycle thiacyclononene (TN) was evaluated as a new type of end-capping group for π-conjugated systems. A systematic study on TN-capped α-oligothiophenes (TNnTs; n=4-7) revealed that the capping with TN, which adopts a bent conformation, imparts the resulting oligothiophenes with drastically increased solubility at approximately 140 °C and high electrochemical stability, whereas the electronic structure remains virtually unperturbed. The even-numbered oligothiophenes TN4T and TN6T form characteristic offset herringbone-type packing structures on account of the steric repulsion between the TN rings and the presence of intermolecular nonbonding S⋅⋅⋅S interactions.

Near infrared two-photon-excited and -emissive dyes based on a strapped excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) scaffold.

Fluorophores that can undergo excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) represent promising scaffolds for the design of compounds that show red-shifted fluorescence. Herein, we disclose new near infrared-emissive materials based on a dialkylamine-strapped 2,5-dithienylpyrrole as an ESIPT scaffold. The introduction of electron-accepting units to the terminal positions of this scaffold generates acceptor-π-donor-π-acceptor (A-π-D-π-A) type π-conjugated compounds.

Water-Soluble Phospholo[3,2-b]phosphole-P,P'-Dioxide-Based Fluorescent Dyes with High Photostability.

We recently reported that fluorescent dye PB430, which consisted of a 2-phenyl-substituted benzophosphole P-oxide skeleton that was reinforced by a methylene bridge, showed pronounced photostability and, thus, high utility for applications in super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. Herein, we replaced the methylene bridge with another P=O group to 1) investigate the role of the bridging moieties; and 2) further modulate the fluorescence properties of this skeleton. We synthesized a series of phospholo[3,2-b]phosphole-based dyes-trans-PO-PB430, cis-PO-PB430, and trans-PO-PB460-all of which showed sufficient water solubility.

Uncovering different states of topological defects in schlieren textures of a nematic liquid crystal.

Topological defects are ubiquitously found in physical systems and therefore have been an important research subject of not only condensed matter physics but also cosmology. However, their fine structures remain elusive because of the microscopic scales involved. In the case of a liquid crystal, optical microscopy, although routinely used for the identification of liquid crystal phases and associated defects, does not have resolution high enough to distinguish fine structures of topological defects.

Photochemical Intramolecular C-H Addition of Dimesityl(hetero)arylboranes through a [1,6]-Sigmatropic Rearrangement.

A new reaction mode for triarylboranes under photochemical conditions was discovered. Photoirradiation of dimesitylboryl-substituted (hetero)arenes produced spirocyclic boraindanes, where one of the C-H bonds in the ortho-methyl groups of the mesityl substituents was formally added in a syn fashion to a C-C double bond of the (hetero)aryl group. Quantum chemical calculations and laser flash photolysis measurements indicated that the reaction proceeds through a [1,6]-sigmatropic rearrangement.

Super-Photostable Phosphole-Based Dye for Multiple-Acquisition Stimulated Emission Depletion Imaging.

As stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy can provide structural details of cells with an optical resolution beyond the diffraction limit, it has become an indispensable tool in cell biology. However, the intense STED laser beam usually causes rapid photobleaching of the employed fluorescent dyes, which significantly limits the utility of STED microscopy from a practical perspective. Herein we report a new design of super-photostable dye, PhoxBright 430 (PB430), comprising a fully ring-fused π-conjugated skeleton with an electron-accepting phosphole P-oxide unit.

Synthesis of seminaphtho-phospha-fluorescein dyes based on the consecutive arylation of aryldichlorophosphines.

Seminaphtho-phospha-fluorescein (SNAPF), a phosphine-oxide-containing unsymmetric fluorescein dye, was synthesized based on the consecutive arylation of PhPCl, followed by Friedel-Crafts cyclization. The resulting SNAPF exhibited several attractive photophysical properties including an intense fluorescence in the NIR region and a large Stokes shift.

A Near-Infrared Dye That Undergoes Multiple Interconversions through Acid-Base Equilibrium and Reversible Redox Processes.

A near-infrared (NIR) polymethine dye (1), consisting of a cyclohepta[1,2-b;4,3-b']dithiophene and two phenol moieties, was synthesized. This dye exhibited pH-responsive changes in its photophysical properties due to a two-step acid-base equilibrium that produced a protonated cation (1H ) and an anion (1 ). While 1H showed an intense fluorescence in the red region of the visible spectrum, 1 exhibited a strong absorption in the NIR region.

Tuning the Photophysical Properties of Photostable Benzo[b]phosphole P-Oxide-Based Fluorophores.

We previously reported that constrained 2-phenylbenzo[b]phosphole P-oxides bearing a diphenylamino group show high photostability and thus are promising dyes for fluorescence imaging. Herein we investigated the impact of the bridging moieties on their photophysical properties. A series of benzo[b]phosphole P-oxides constrained with various carbon or silicon bridges were synthesized.

Synthesis and Physical Properties of Strained Doubly Phosphorus-Bridged Biaryls and Viologens.

New P/N-containing π-electron systems comprising fully planar biaryl arrays are synthesized by multiple radical phosphanylation. The biaryl moiety in these highly strained planar π-systems is rigidified by double P-bridging. The electronic properties of the core biaryl entity are varied by introducing N-donor substituents or by installing N-atoms within the π-system, thereby moving to the viologen core structure.

Facile Synthesis of Polycyclic Pentalenes with Enhanced Hückel Antiaromaticity.

Pentalenes represent highly reactive Hückel antiaromatics with 8π electrons. Usually, pentalenes are stabilized by incorporation of two benzene rings in a fused fashion. In dibenzo[a,e]pentalenes, however, the high aromaticity of the fused benzene rings compromises the inherent antiaromaticity of the pentalene core.