Circular linkage of intramolecular multi-hydrogen bonding frameworks through nucleophilic substitutions of β-dicarbonyls onto cyanuric chloride and subsequent tautomerisation.

Nucleophilic substitution reactions of cyanuric chloride with a series of β-dicarbonyls give triply β-dicarbonyl-embedded 1,3,5-triazines. Their subsequent but spontaneous tautomeric transformation leads to circularly linked, intramolecular, multi-hydrogen bonding networks. Their structural elucidation by X-ray crystallography showed elongated double bonds and shortened single bonds. This is likely due to a resonance hybrid formed via tautomerisation and simultaneous proton transfer.