Zigzag-type Molecular Belts and Beyond

 

Zigzag-type Molecular Belts and Beyond

 

Date: 6^th June, 2025 (Friday)

Time: 5 - 6 pm (HKT)

 

Venue: Lecture Theatre P1, Chong Yuet Ming Chemistry Building

 

Prof. Mei-Xiang WANG

Tsinghua University

 

Prof. Dr. Wang graduated from Fudan University in 1983. After spending 3 years in Beijing General Research Institute of Non-ferrous Metals as a research associate, he joined Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS) at Beijing and obtained his master degree (1989) and PhD (1992). He then worked at ICCAS ranking from assistant professor, associate professor to professor. He has joined Tsinghua University since the May of 2009. He was elected as the Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2021. He serves as the chairman of the committee of supramolecular chemistry, Chinese Chemistry Society.

 

Zigzag aromatic belts such as belt[n]arenes or [n]cyclacenes have been fascinating chemists and materials scientists since they were proposed by Heilbronner in 1954 because of their aesthetically appealing structures, tantalizing physical and chemical properties, and potential applications. Despite synthetic effort in the past decades, the synthesis of zigzag aromatic belts remains a formidable challenge.¹ Very recently, we² have established a general and straightforward fjord-stitching strategy to construct partly hydrogenated belt[n]arenes by multiple C-C bond forming reactions from inexpensive and easily available resorcin[n]arene derivatives. Formation of the first fully conjugated belt[8]arene was observed. The fjord-stitching strategy has been extended successfully to the synthesis of a diversity of novel and functionalized zigzag-type molecular belts (Figure 1). In this talk, I will present our endeavors to develop the (supramolecular) chemistry of zigzag-type molecular nanobelts.³

 

1. For reviews, see: (a) Shi, T.-H.; Wang, M.-X. CCS Chem. 2020, 2, 916. (b) Guo, Q.-H.; Qiu, Y.; Wang, M.-X.; Stoddart, J. F. Nature Chem. 2021, 13, 402.

2. Shi, T.-H.; Guo, Q.-H.; Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 4576.

3. (a) Zhang, Q.; Zhang, Y.-E; Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 1196. (b) Shi, T.-H.; Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 7700. (c) Zhang, Y.; Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 18151. (d) Tan, M.-L.; Guo, Q.-H.; Wang, X.-Y.; Shi, T.-H.; Zhang, Q.; Hou, S.-K.; Tong, S.; You, J. Wang, M.-X. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 23649. (e) Xie, M.; Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. CCS Chem. 2023, 5, 117. (f) Peng, Y.; Tong, S.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, M.-X. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202302646. (g) Wang, X.-Y. Zhang, X.-Y.; Tong S.; Guo, Q.-H.; Tan, M.-L.; Li, C.-J.; Wang, M.-X. CCS Chem. 2024, 6, 1198. (h) Chen, J.-H.; Peng, Y. Tong, S.; Wang, M.-X. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 1595.