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Abstract Chemical reduction of a benzo‐fused double [7]helicene (1) with two alkali metals, K and Rb, provided access to three different reduced states of1. The doubly‐reduced helicene12−has been characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction as a solvent‐separated ion triplet with two potassium counterions. The triply‐ and tetra‐reduced helicenes,13−and14−, have been crystallized together in an equimolar ratio and both form the contact‐ion complexes with two Rb+ions each, leaving three remaining Rb+ions wrapped by crown ether and THF molecules. As structural consequence of the stepwise reduction of1, the central axis of helicene becomes more compressed upon electron addition (1.42 Å in14−vs. 2.09 Å in1). This is accompanied by an extra core twist, as the peripheral dihedral angle increases from 16.5° in1to 20.7° in14−. Theoretical calculations provided the pattern of negative charge build‐up and distribution over the contorted helicene framework upon each electron addition, and the results are consistent with the X‐ray crystallographic and NMR spectroscopic data.
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Site‐Specific Reduction‐Induced Hydrogenation of a Helical Bilayer Nanographene with K and Rb Metals: Electron Multiaddition and Selective Rb + Complexation
Abstract The chemical reduction of π‐conjugated bilayer nanographene1(C138H120) with K and Rb in the presence of 18‐crown‐6 affords [K+(18‐crown‐6)(THF)2][{K+(18‐crown‐6)}2(THF)0.5][C138H1223−] (2) and [Rb+(18‐crown‐6)2][{Rb+(18‐crown‐6)}2(C138H1223−)] (3). Whereas K+cations are fully solvent‐separated from the trianionic core thus affording a “naked”1.3−anion, Rb+cations are coordinated to the negatively charged layers of1.3−. According to DFT calculations, the localization of the first two electrons in the helicene moiety leads to an unprecedented site‐specific hydrogenation process at the carbon atoms located on the edge of the helicene backbone. This uncommon reduction‐induced site‐specific hydrogenation provokes dramatic changes in the (electronic) structure of1as the helicene backbone becomes more compressed and twisted upon chemical reduction, which results in a clear slippage of the bilayers.
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- PAR ID:
- 10364321
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Volume:
- 61
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 1433-7851
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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