title: Switching the Photochromic Activity of Acenaphthylene Derivatives through a Tandem Nucleophile-Promoted Addition Reaction.
abstract: New acenaphthylene-based dithienylethenes have been prepared. Surprisingly they did not show photochromism. However, they readily underwent a tandem addition of a nucleophile and an electrophile, leading to a small library of dearomatized colourless analogues, which, on the contrary, were endowed with photochromic activity. In the absence of the electrophile, the intermediate obtained by C-attack readily aromatizes to give, surprisingly, a final product of direct aromatic nucleophilic substitution, which was not photochromically active.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lambruschini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146, Genova, Italy. banfi@chimica.unige.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7605-0993
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Banfi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146, Genova, Italy. guanti@chimica.unige.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guanti
keywords: aromaticity; multicomponent reactions; nucleophilic addition; nucleophilic substitution; photochromism