The endo coordination of metal ions inside bowl-shaped polyaromatic hydrocarbons is rare. The first example of such binding to corannulene (C20H10), one of the smallest curved fragments of C60-fullerene, was recently demonstrated by us upon its one-electron reduction with cesium. The Cs(I) cation was found to be symmetrically bound to the concave surface of the monoreduced bowl, illustrating their perfect size complementarity enhancing mutual electrostatic interactions. The products of the second and third one-electron reduction of C20H10 with cesium are now isolated and structurally characterized. They also show a preferential concave placement of Cs+ ions inside the negatively charged bowl in their major building units. Importantly, no prior examples of solid products of corannulene trianion, considered a transient species on the way toward the fully reduced tetraanion, have been reported. It is believed that concave Cs(I) binding allows to stabilize and isolate it in the solid state for the first time.

Doubly and triple reduced corannulene stabilized through concave cesium ion placement inside a bowl

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.