A Search for Blues Brothers: X-ray Crystallographic/Spectroscopic Characterization of the Tetraarylbenzidine Cation Radical as a Product of Aging of Solid Magic Blue

Authors

Marat R. Talipov, Marquette UniversityFollow
Mohammad M. Hossain, Marquette University
Anitha Boddeda, Marquette UniversityFollow
Khushabu Thakur, Marquette University
Rajendra Rathore, Marquette University

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

8 p.

Publication Date

2016

Publisher

Royal Society of Chemistry

Source Publication

Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry

Source ISSN

1477-0520

Abstract

Magic blue (MB⁺˙ SbCl₆⁻ salt), i.e. tris-4-bromophenylamminium cation radical, is a routinely employed one-electron oxidant that slowly decomposes in the solid state upon storage to form so called ‘blues brothers’, which often complicate the quantitative analyses of the oxidation processes. Herein, we disclose the identity of the main ‘blues brother’ as the cation radical and dication of tetrakis-(4-bromophenyl)benzidine (TAB) by a combined DFT and experimental approach, including isolation of TAB⁺˙ SbCl₆⁻ and its X-ray crystallography characterization. The formation of TAB in aged magic blue samples occurs by a Scholl-type coupling of a pair of MB followed by a loss of molecular bromine. The recognition of this fact led us to the rational design and synthesis of tris(2-bromo-4-tert-butylphenyl)amine, referred to as ‘blues cousin’ (BC: E_ox1 = 0.78 V vs. Fc/Fc⁺, λ_max(BC⁺˙) = 805 nm, ε_max = 9930 cm⁻¹ M⁻¹), whose oxidative dimerization is significantly hampered by positioning the sterically demanding tert-butyl groups at the para-positions of the aryl rings. A ready two-step synthesis of BC from triphenylamine and the high stability of its cation radical (BC⁺˙) promise that BC will serve as a ready replacement for MB and an oxidant of choice for mechanistic investigations of one-electron transfer processes in organic, inorganic, and organometallic transformations.

Comments

Accepted version. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Vol. 14 (2016): 2961-2968. DOI. © 2016 Royal Society of Chemistry. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Talipov, Marat R.; Hossain, Mohammad M.; Boddeda, Anitha; Thakur, Khushabu; and Rathore, Rajendra, "A Search for Blues Brothers: X-ray Crystallographic/Spectroscopic Characterization of the Tetraarylbenzidine Cation Radical as a Product of Aging of Solid Magic Blue" (2016). Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications. 457.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/chem_fac/457