Synthesis of All‐Benzene Multi‐Macrocyclic Nanocarbons by Post‐Functionalization of <i>meta</i>‐Cycloparaphenylenes
Jia‐Nan Gao, An Bu, Yi‐Ming Chen, Mianling Huang, Zhi Chen, Xiaopeng Li, Chen‐Ho Tung, Li‐Zhu Wu, Huan Cong
Abstract
Expanding the diversity of multi-macrocyclic nanocarbons, particularly those with all-benzene scaffolds, represents intriguing yet challenging synthetic tasks. Complementary to the existing synthetic approaches, here we report an efficient and modular post-functionalization strategy that employs iridium-catalyzed C-H borylation of the highly strained meta-cycloparaphenylenes (mCPPs) and an mCPP-derived catenane. Based on the functionalized macrocyclic synthons, a number of novel all-benzene topological structures including linear and cyclic chains, polycatenane, and pretzelane have been successfully prepared and characterized, thereby showcasing the synthetic utility and potential of the post-functionalization strategy.