Development of Transiently Strainable Benzocycloheptenes for Catalyst-Free, Visible-Light-Mediated [3 + 2]-Cycloadditions

Dynamic photogeneration of ephemeral and reactive species is enabling for chemical reactions, providing spatial and temporal control. A previous study from our group established the ability of 6,7-dihydro-5H-benzo[7]annulene, benzocycloheptene (BC7), to convert photochemical energy into ring strain, enabling the rapid cycloaddition of alkyl azides with the reversibly formed and transient trans-isomer, affording versatile nonaromatic triazolines. Despite the conceptual advances of the previous study, some challenges remained: the fragility of the triazoline products, the low regioselectivity for the cycloaddition, a need for an iridium-based photosensitizer and organic-based solvents, and a lack of convenient linchpin functional group handles. Herein, we communicate the development of a second generation of BC7 molecules that overcome the issues of the first generation. A method to convert fragile triazoline products to stable triazoles was developed. The alkene component was polarized with a carbonyl group, dramatically improving the regioselectivity while simultaneously red-shifting the absorbance of the cycloalkene into the visible region, which was expected to facilitate direct excitation and eliminate the need for photocatalysts. However, experiments indicated that the cycloaddition involved passage through a triplet manifold, complicating the direct excitation strategy. This was successfully overcome by attaching a bromine atom directly to the alkene moiety, which accelerated singlet-to-triplet intersystem crossing by the heavy atom effect. Further exploration identified sites of substitution that can increase the water solubility and provide a handle for the loading of chemical tools and probes.