Synthesis and characterisation of the complete series of B-N analogues of triptycene.

The reaction between the bisborate Li2[o-C6H4(BH3)2] and 2 equivalents of an appropriate pyrazole derivative (Hpz(R)) in the presence of Me3SiCl yields o-phenylene-bridged pyrazaboles HB(μ-pz(R))2(μ-o-C6H4)BH (3a-3e; Hpz(R) = 4-iodopyrazole (3a), 4-(trimethylsilyl)pyrazole (3b), 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (3c), 3,5-di(tert-butyl)pyrazole (3d), 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazole (3e)). The synthesis approach thus provides access to uncharged B-N triptycenes bearing (i) functionalisable groups, (ii) electron-donating or -withdrawing substituents and (iii) pyrazole rings of varying steric demand. Treatment of p-R*C6H4BBr2 with the potassium tris(pyrazol-1-yl)borates K[HBpz3] or K[p-R*C6H4Bpz3] yields cationic pyrazolyl-bridged pyrazaboles [p-BrC6H4B(μ-pz)3BH]Br ([4a]Br) and [p-R*C6H4B(μ-pz)3Bp-C6H4R*]Br (R* = Br ([4b]Br), I ([4c]Br), SiMe3 ([4d]Br)), which can be regarded as full B-N analogues of triptycene.

Structural characteristics of dibromoborylated benzene derivatives.

The crystal structures of five dibromobenzene derivatives, namely dibromoborylbenzene, C(6)H(5)BBr(2), (I), 1-dibromoboryl-4-(trimethylsilyl)benzene, C(9)H(13)BBr(2)Si, (II), 4-bromo-1-(dibromoboryl)benzene, C(6)H(4)BBr(3), (III), dibromo(dimethylamino)(phenyl)borane, C(8)H(12)BBr(2)N, (IV), and dibromo(dimethylsulfanyl)[4-(trimethylsilyl)phenyl]borane, C(11)H(19)BBr(2)SSi, (V), have been determined. Compounds (I)-(IV) crystallize with one molecule in the asymmetric unit, but the molecule of (V) is located on a crystallographic mirror plane, implying twofold disorder of the central aromatic ring, the S atom and one of the methyl groups bonded to the S atom. In (I), (II) and (III), the B atom is three-coordinated, and in (IV) and (V) it is four-coordinated.