Divergent Synthesis of Contorted Polycyclic Aromatics Containing Pentagons, Heptagon, and/or Azulene

Org Lett. 2022 Jan 21;24(2):472-477. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c03498. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

Abstract

Divergent synthesis of four contorted aromatics containing pentagons, a heptagon, and/or an azulene from the same difluorenyl pentacenediene precursor were realized in one step. The subtle differences in molecular structure were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The mechanisms for the control of different products, which involve a ring-expansion rearrangement, Scholl reactions, and/or Mallory cyclization were proposed on the basis of control experiments and DFT calculations. Such development adds good structure versatility and materials accessibility to the study of contorted aromatics.