BN-Butafulvenes and Their Application in the Synthesis of Highly Substituted BN-9,1-Naphthalenes

BN-butafulvenes, mono-BN isosteres of butafulvene and highly strained isomers of azaborines and B-amino boroles, have been synthesized via hydrolysis of the urana-borabicyclic complexes obtained from the reactions of bis(alkynyl)boranes with an uranacyclopropene complex. Their 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) adducts can further isomerize to 1,2,4,6-multisubstituted BN-9,1-naphthalenes. Both NMR reaction monitoring and theoretical calculations point to a reaction mechanism involving dearomative insertion of DMAP followed by two consecutive 1,2-hydrogen shifts. The photophysical studies of the highly substituted BN-9,1-naphthalenes reveal a notable redshift in both the UV/Vis absorption and emission spectra. The (TD)-DFT calculations corroborate the experimental data, suggesting that the strong π-donating amino substitution at the 1- and/or 6-positions destabilizes the HOMO, and thus leading to a notable decrease of the HOMO-LUMO gap.