Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.140, No.43, 14474-14480, 2018
Fully Conjugated [4]Chrysaorene. Redox-Coupled Anion Binding in a Tetraradicaloid Macrocycle
[4]Chrysaorene, a fully conjugated carbocyclic coronoid, is shown to be a low-bandgap it pi-conjugated system with a distinct open-shell character. The system shows good chemical stability and can be oxidized to well-defined radical cation and dication states. The cavity of [4]chrysaorene acts as an anion receptor toward halide ions with a particular selectivity toward iodides (K-a = 207 +/- 6 M-1). The interplay between anion binding and redox chemistry is demonstrated using a H-1 NMR analysis in solution. In particular, a well-resolved, paramagnetically shifted spectrum of the [4]chrysaorene radical cation is observed, providing evidence for the inner binding of the iodide. The radical cation-iodide adduct can be generated in thin solid films of [4] chrysaorene by simple exposure to diiodine vapor.