Stéphane Le Gac, Elsa Caytan, Vincent Dorcet and Bernard Boitrel
Org. Biomol. Chem., 2019,17, 3718-3722
DOI:
10.1039/C9OB00489K,
Communication
Upon protonation, a tren-capped hexaphyrin undergoes successive rectangular-to-Möbius and Möbius-to-triangular conformational isomerizations, with concomitant antiaromaticity-to-aromaticity reversal. This affords different cage environments leading ultimately to a “crypto-bowl-shape” hexaphyrin hosting a trifluoroacetate counterion.