Abstract Sunlight‐driven photochemical reactions are an important tool for sustainable organic synthesis. However, compared with ground states, for which the effects of structure on properties and reactivity are well established, the understanding of excited states is limited. In particular, an improved understanding of aromaticity and antiaromaticity in excited states is necessary to develop strategic photochemical methods for synthesizing polycyclic aromatic compounds. Herein, using density functional theory (DFT)‐optimized structures, the ground singlet (S0) and lowest triplet (T1) states of coronene and corannulene were compared. Bond length analysis demonstrated that both triplet corannulene and triplet coronene bear a partial resemblance to benzene. Nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS(0), NICS(1.7)ZZ, NICS scans) and anisotropy of the induced current density (ACID) calculations were carried out to compare the induced magnetic currents in these molecules. This analysis demonstrated rather weak π‐conjugation and partial antiaromaticity in the S0state of each molecule. In contrast, a combination of circular induced currents and pronounced antiaromaticity was found in the T1state of each molecule. However, the T1of corannulene exhibited higher stability, which should facilitate functionalization. Consequently, corannulene is considered more suitable for photochemical applications.
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Comparison of Various Theoretical Measures of Aromaticity within Monosubstituted Benzene
The effects of monosubstitution on the aromaticity of benzene are assessed using a number of different quantitative schemes. The ability of the mobile π-electrons to respond to an external magnetic field is evaluated using several variants of the NICS scheme which calculate the shielding of points along the axis perpendicular to the molecule. Another class of measures is related to the drive toward the uniformity of C-C bond lengths and strengths. Several energetic quantities are devised to approximate an aromatic stabilization energy and the tendency of the molecule to maintain planarity. There is a lack of consistency in that the various measures of aromaticity lead to differing conclusions as to the effects of substituents on the aromaticity of the ring.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1954310
- PAR ID:
- 10520820
- Publisher / Repository:
- mdpi
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecules
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 1420-3049
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2260
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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