Stille vs. Suzuki – cross-coupling for the functionalization of diazocines

Abstract

Diazocines are azobenzene derived macrocyclic photoswitches with well resolved photostationary states for the (E)- and (Z)-isomers, which improves their addressability by light. In this work, effective procedures for the stannylation and borylation of diazocines in different positions are reported. Their use in Stille cross-coupling and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions with organic bromides is demonstrated in yields of 47–94% (Stille cross-coupling) and 0–95% (Suzuki cross-coupling), respectively.