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Updated: Aug 20, 2025

Preparation of a Corannulene-functionalized Hexahelicene by CopperI-catalyzed Alkyne-azide Cycloaddition of Nonplanar Polyaromatic Units
Published on: September 18, 2016
Electrophilic C-H Borylation of Aza[5]helicenes Leading to Bowl-Shaped Quasi-[7]Circulenes with Switchable Dynamics
Xiaolei Zhang1, Florian Rauch1, Jan Niedens1
1Institut für Anorganische Chemie and Institute for Sustainable Chemistry & Catalysis with Boron, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The intrinsic relationship between helicenes and circulenes is of fundamental interest and importance in molecular engineering. Herein, electrophilic borylation of phenanthroline-derived aza[5]helicenes is presented, resulting in the incorporation of a boryl unit into two termini of helicenes to afford quasi-[7]circulenes. Their bowl-shaped structures were determined by X-ray diffraction. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as electrochemical measurements and DFT calculations, gave insight into their electronic properties. Variable-temperature NMR studies and DFT calculations revealed bowl-to-bowl inversion at room temperature and bowl-to-helix equilibria at elevated temperature, highlighting the important role of B ← N bond strength in tuning their dynamic properties.
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