Drennhaus Till, Imoto Daiki, Horst Elena S, Lezius Lena, Shudo Hiroki, Kato Tomoki, Bergander Klaus, Daniliuc Constantin G, Leifert Dirk, Yagi Akiko, Studer Armido, Itami Kenichiro
Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602, Japan.
Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Münster, Corrensstraße 40, 48149, Münster, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jun 9;16(1):4643. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59934-5.
Cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) and related carbon nanorings (CNRs) represent iconic molecular entities in molecular nanocarbon science. While theoretical studies predict that the introduction of nitrogen atoms (N-doping) onto CPP frameworks would add a number of fascinating properties, only a handful of partially N-doped carbon nanorings have been synthesized. We herein report the synthesis of a long-awaited cycloparaazine (CPA), where every para-connected aromatic moiety consists of a N-heterocycle, and two other highly N-doped CNRs. The evaluation of optoelectronic and structural properties coupled with theoretical studies uncovered the impact of both the amount and positioning of N-doping onto the nanorings properties; far less ring strain, red-shifted UV-vis absorption and fluorescence, smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps and both higher reduction and oxidation potentials than pristine CPPs. Ultimately, new potential applications of highly N-doped nanorings were examined in non-covalent supramolecular property engineering with Lewis acids and as energy storage materials.
环对亚苯基(CPPs)及相关碳纳米环(CNRs)是分子纳米碳科学中的标志性分子实体。虽然理论研究预测,在CPP框架上引入氮原子(N掺杂)会赋予一系列迷人的特性,但目前仅合成了少数部分N掺杂的碳纳米环。我们在此报告了一种期待已久的环对嗪(CPA)的合成,其中每个对位连接的芳香部分均由一个N杂环组成,此外还合成了另外两种高度N掺杂的CNRs。通过对光电和结构性质的评估以及理论研究,揭示了N掺杂的量和位置对纳米环性质的影响;与原始CPPs相比,环张力更小、紫外-可见吸收和荧光发生红移、HOMO-LUMO能隙更小,还原电位和氧化电位更高。最终,研究了高度N掺杂纳米环在与路易斯酸进行非共价超分子性质工程以及作为储能材料方面的新潜在应用。