Research: Homoaromatic hydrocarbons and photoswitching

The group is exploring novel hydrocarbon frameworks with the goal to stabilize and study neutral homoaromaticity. This research area combines organic synthesis, fundamental studies of (homo)aromaticity and is reaching out to materials chemistry.

In this manner, we have been able to identify homoannulenes as a class of compounds which are the first stable neutral homoaromatic hydrocarbons. This molecular platform now allows for a systematic study of homoaromaticity in organic molecules.

Furthermore, the neutral homoaromatic hydrocarbons show photoswitching behaviour. During a reversible and hitherto unknown switching process running through a [1,11]-sigmatropic rearrangement, the local 6π homoaromatic system is transformed into a global 10π homoaromatic. The group is now studying the structural and electronic effects of the hydrocarbon framework upon the photoswitching behaviour.

See for example: Nat. Chem. 2023, 15, 377; Synthesis 2023, 55, 2658.