Issue 2, 2021

Impact of the macrocyclic structure and dynamic solvent effect on the reactivity of a localised singlet diradicaloid with π-single bonding character

Abstract

Localised singlet diradicals are key intermediates in bond homolysis processes. Generally, these highly reactive species undergo radical–radical coupling reaction immediately after their generation. Therefore, their short-lived character hampers experimental investigations of their nature. In this study, we implemented the new concept of “stretch effect” to access a kinetically stabilised singlet diradicaloid. To this end, a macrocyclic structure was computationally designed to enable the experimental examination of a singlet diradicaloid with π-single bonding character. The kinetically stabilised diradicaloid exhibited a low carbon–carbon coupling reaction rate of 6.4 × 103 s−1 (155.9 μs), approximately 11 and 1000 times slower than those of the first generation of macrocyclic system (7.0 × 104 s−1, 14.2 μs) and the parent system lacking the macrocycle (5 × 106 s−1, 200 ns) at 293 K in benzene, respectively. In addition, a significant dynamic solvent effect was observed for the first time in intramolecular radical–radical coupling reactions in viscous solvents such as glycerin triacetate. This theoretical and experimental study demonstrates that the stretch effect and solvent viscosity play important roles in retarding the σ-bond formation process, thus enabling a thorough examination of the nature of the singlet diradicaloid and paving the way toward a deeper understanding of reactive intermediates.

Graphical abstract: Impact of the macrocyclic structure and dynamic solvent effect on the reactivity of a localised singlet diradicaloid with π-single bonding character

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
25 sen 2020
Accepted
09 noy 2020
First published
10 noy 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 613-625

Impact of the macrocyclic structure and dynamic solvent effect on the reactivity of a localised singlet diradicaloid with π-single bonding character

Z. Wang, R. Akisaka, S. Yabumoto, T. Nakagawa, S. Hatano and M. Abe, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 613 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC05311B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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