Synthesis and Physical Properties of Trioxotriangulene Having Methoxy and Hydroxy Groups at α-Positions: Electronic and Steric Effects of Substituent Groups and Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonds.

New 4,8,12-trioxotriangulene (TOT) neutral radical derivatives having three methoxy and hydroxy groups at the α-positions were synthesized, and the substituent effects on the electronic spin and redox properties were elucidated in the theoretical and experimental methods. Due to the small SOMO coefficients at the α-positions of TOT, the methoxy groups in the TOT neutral radical had negligible effects on the electronic spin structure and redox ability. On the other hand, methoxy groups greatly increased the LUMO energy having large coefficients at α-positions and, thus, caused a remarkable negative-potential shift of the redox wave of anion species involving the dianion and trianion species. Converting the methoxy groups to hydroxy groups caused a dramatic change in the electronic structure of TOT, where the intramolecular hydrogen bonds between hydroxy groups and oxo groups strongly attracted a minus charge on the TOT skeleton. The HOMO energy of the monoanion species was significantly reduced, causing a blue shift of the HOMO-LUMO transition and an anodic shift of the redox potential. In addition, due to the steric repulsion smaller than that of the methoxy group, the hydroxy derivative showed a more planar molecular structure and a strong π-stacking ability.