Regioselective Synthesis, Crystallographic Characterization, and Electrochemical Properties of Pyrazole- and Pyrrole-Ring-Fused Derivatives of Y2 @C3v (8)-C82.

Abstract

Chemical modification of endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) is an efficient strategy to realize their ultimate applications in many fields. Herein, we report the highly regioselective and quantitative mono-formation of pyrazole- and pyrrole-ring-fused derivatives of the prototypical di-EMF Y2 @C3v (8)-C82 , that is, Y2 @C3v (8)-C82 (C13 N2 H10 ) and Y2 @C3v (8)-C82 (C9 NH11 ), from the respective 1,3-dipolar reactions with either diphenylnitrilimine or N-benzylazomethine ylide, without the formation of any bis- or multi-adducts. Crystallographic results unambiguously reveal that only one [6,6]-bond out of the twenty-five different types of nonequivalent C-C bonds of Y2 @C3v (8)-C82 is involved in the 1,3-dipolar reactions. Our theoretical results rationalize that the remarkably high regioselectivity and the quantitative formation of mono-adducts are direct results from the anisotropic distribution of π-electron density on the C3v (8)-C82 cage and the local strain of the cage carbon atoms as well. Interestingly, electrochemical and theoretical studies demonstrate that the reversibility of the redox processes, in particular the reversibility of the reductive processes of Y2 @C3v (8)-C82 , has been markedly altered upon exohedral functionalization, but the oxidative process was less influenced, indicating that the oxidation is mainly influenced by the internal Y2 cluster, whereas the reduction is primarily associated with the fullerene cage. The pyrazole and pyrrole-fused derivatives may find potential applications as organic photovoltaic materials and biological reagents.