Synthesis of Pyrrole-Fused Corannulenes: 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition of Azomethine Ylides to Corannulene.

In the long history of corannulene chemistry, the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to corannulene is unprecedented. Reported herein is the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a polycyclic aromatic azomethine ylide to corannulene, a reaction which occurs exclusively at the rim bond of corannulene, from the convex side in an exo fashion. The cycloadducts were successfully converted, by successive oxidative dehydrogenation, into pyrrole-fused corannulenes, which exhibited pronounced solvatofluorochromism.