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Curved aromatic hydrocarbons often display better solubility and more desirable electronic properties in comparison to their flat counterparts. Macrocyclic curved aromatics possess these traits as well as shape-persistent pores ideal for host-guest interactions. A quintessential macrocyclic curved aromatic molecule is the cycloparaphenylene, or [n]CPP. Our group has developed a new class of these carbon nanohoops, called [n+1]CPPs, that incorporate a strained alkyne (“+1”) into the carbon backbone. We have previously shown the [n+1]CPPs to be a promising new class of strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition click reagents. Herein, we show that the [n+1]CPPs can also be converted into pinwheel-like multi-pore large molecules via a straightforward and high yielding metal-mediated alkyne cyclotrimerization reaction. We provide insight into suitable metals for this transformation, the photophysics of these trimeric molecules, as well as their strain profiles and crystal packing. 

Tuning strained alkyne reactivity via organic synthesis has evolved into a burgeoning field of study largely focused on cyclooctyne, wherein physical organic chemistry helps guide rational molecular design to produce molecules with intriguing properties. Concurrent research in the field of carbon nanomaterials has produced new types of strained alkyne macrocycles, such as cycloparaphenyleneacetylenes, that possess uniquely curved aromatic π systems but hover on the edge of stability. In 2018, we introduced a strained alkyne scaffold that marries the synthetic accessibility and stability of cyclooctyne with the curved π system of carbon nanomaterials. These molecules are strained alkyne-containing cycloparaphenylenes (or [n+1]CPPs), which have been shown to possess size-dependent reactivity as well as the classic characteristics of the unfunctionalized parent CPP, such as a tunable HOMO–LUMO gap and bright fluorescence for large sizes. Herein, we elaborate further on this scaffold, introducing two modifications to the original design and fully characterizing the kinetics of the strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) for each [n+1]CPP with a model azide. Additionally, we explain how electronic (the incorporation of fluorine atoms) and strain (a meta linkage which heightens local strain at the alkyne) modulations affect SPAAC reactivity via the distortion–interaction computational model. Altogether, these results indicate that through a modular synthesis and rational chemical design, we have developed a new family of tunable and inherently fluorescent strained alkyne carbon nanomaterials. 

Strain has a unique and sometimes unpredictable impact on the properties and reactivity of molecules. To thoroughly describe strain in molecules, a computational tool that relates strain energy to reactivity by localizing and quantifying strain was developed. Strain energy is calculated local to every coordinate in the molecule and areas of higher strain are shown experimentally to be more reactive. Not only does this tool directly compare strain energy in parts of the same molecule, but it also computes total strain to give a full picture of molecular strain energy. It is freely available to the public on GitHub under the name StrainViz and much of the workflow is automated to simplify use for non-experts. Unique insight into the reactivity of curved aromatic molecules and strained alkyne bioorthogonal reagents is described within. 

Abstract We examine the effects of fusing two benzofurans tos‐indacene (indacenodibenzofurans, IDBFs) and dicyclopenta[b,g]naphthalene (indenoindenodibenzofurans, IIDBFs) to control the strong antiaromaticity and diradical character of these core units. Synthesis via 3‐functionalized benzofuran yieldssyn‐IDBF andsyn‐IIDBF.syn‐IDBF possesses a high degree of paratropicity, exceeding that of the parent hydrocarbon, which in turn results in strong diradical character forsyn‐IIDBF. In the case of theanti‐isomers, synthesized via 2‐substituted benzofurans, these effects are decreased; however, both derivatives undergo an unexpected ring‐opening reaction during the final dearomatization step. All the results are compared to the benzothiophene‐fused analogues and show that the increased electronegativity of oxygen in thesyn‐fused derivatives leads to enhancement of the antiaromatic core causing greater paratropicity. Forsyn‐IIDBF increased diradical character results from rearomati‐zation of the core naphthalene unit in order to relieve this paratropicity.