In 2004 chemists at Kiel and Stuttgart (Germany) achieved the synthesis of isomeric 16 pi-electron bridged annulenes, one having Hückel geometry and the other a Möbius twist. These configurations are enforced by a bisanthraquinodimethane unit, as shown in the following structures. The chain of blue colored bonds traces the course of the annulene ring. X-ray structural analysis establishes the Cs symmetry of the colorless Hückel isomer, and the red bonds show the C2 symmetry of the red-colored Möbius isomer.
The elegant synthesis of these two compounds is described in a letter to Nature, the equations for which are reproduced in the following diagram. Full details of this work may be obtained from: D. Ajami, O. Oeckler, A. Simon & R. Herges, Nature 426, 819-821 (2004).
Jmol models for these two isomers are presented below. In these models, the carbon atoms are dark gray and hydrogen is cyan. Double bonds may be shown, and the annulene identified by color. Note the C2 symmetry of the Möbius isomer relative to the Cs symmetry of the Hückel isomer. |
Hückel
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Spacefill Model
Stick Model
Show Double Bonds (on/off)
Color Annulene (on/off)
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Möbius
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Spacefill Model
Stick Model
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Color Annulene (on/off)
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