Synthesis of Organic Super-Electron-Donors by Reaction of Nitrous Oxide with N-Heterocyclic Olefins

Leónard Y.M. Eymann, Paul Varava, Andrei M. Shved, Basile F.E. Curchod, Yizhu Liu, Ophélie M. Planes, Andrzej Sienkiewicz, Rosario Scopelliti, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Kay Severin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The reaction of nitrous oxide (N2O) with N-heterocyclic olefins (NHOs) results in cleavage of the N-O bond and formation of azo-bridged NHO dimers. The latter represent very electron-rich compounds with a low ionization energy. Cyclic voltammetry studies show that the dimers can be classified as new organic super-electron-donors, with a reducing power similar to what is found for tetraazafulvalene derivatives. Mild oxidants are able to convert the neutral dimers into radical cations, which can be isolated. Further oxidation gives stable dications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17112-17116
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume141
Issue number43
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Oct 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and EPFL.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Chemical Society.

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