title: One-pot synthesis of pillar[n]arenes catalyzed by a minimum amount of TfOH and a solution-phase mechanistic study.
abstract: A practical and effective trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH)-catalyzed cyclooligomerization strategy was developed for the synthesis of functionalized pillar[n]arenes and copillar[5]arenes from 1,4-dialkoxybenzenes with paraformaldehyde under mild reaction conditions, and the reaction mechanism of solution-phase catalytic synthesis of pillararenes was investigated by room-temperature X-band ESR spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, NMR and control experiments, suggesting a free radical process initially and a Friedel-Crafts alkylation process during the consequent coupling and ring-closure stage.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Dai-Xiong
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Guan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.forename: Sean Xiao-An
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunju
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ying-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yang