Chemical Reduction of a Nanosized [6]Cyclo-2,7-naphthylene Macrocycle

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2021 May 10;60(20):11201-11205. doi: 10.1002/anie.202100942. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Abstract

Chemical reduction of a naphthylene macrocycle, [6]cyclo-2,7-naphthylene ([6]CNAP, 1), with alkali metals, Li and K, revealed the accessibility of the doubly-reduced state of 1. The macrocyclic 12- anion was isolated in different coordination environments and crystallographically characterized. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of contact-ion complexes with one Li+ and two K+ ions in THF, and a "naked" dianion in the solvent-separated ion product with K+ ions in the presence of 18-crown-6 ether. The detailed structural analysis of 12- showed that the π-conjugation over the biaryl linkages between naphthylene panels were enhanced upon two-fold reduction, which was rationally explained by theoretical calculations.

Keywords: X-ray diffraction; alkali metals; chemical reduction; macrocycles; structural study.