Incorporation of boron in the walls of an "all-carbon" cyclophane: a novel approach to Lewis acidic macrocycles.
A p-doped conjugated cyclophane! The six boron atoms of the bora-cyclophane (see picture) recently reported by Chen and Jäkle team up to impart a set of unique properties to this novel macrocycle. In particular, this macrocycle undergoes six consecutive reversible reductions to afford the hexaanion. It also binds up to six small nucleophilic anions, a process that quenches the fluorescence of the ring and changes its character to electron-rich.
Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. francois@tamu.edu
François P
FP
Gabbaï