Azulene-substituted thiophenes

The oxidative formation of azulenoquinones from linearly fused azulenoheterocycles, on the other hand, exactly follows the rules of electrophilic substitution on azulenes (cf. Section 4.2.1). Thiophene 45a or furan 47a (Scheme 68) can be oxidized by bromine/aqueous acetic acid, phenyltrimethylammonium perbromide (PTAB) or pyridinium perbro-mide to yield mixtures of quinones 274a and 275a or 274b and 275b, respectively (96BCJ1149, 03H(61)271). 

The Ullmann reaction was used in the coupling of a wide variety of aryl halides, Ar-X, where the Ar includes mono-, di-, poly-substituted phenyl [4,5,14], naphthalene [4,5,15,16], azulene [17], pyridine [18], pyrimidine [19], thiophene [4,5,20], carbazole [21], and even ferrocene [22], while X = I, Br, Cl. The reaction was successfully used in the intramolecular cyclization reactions affording four- [23], five- [24], six-membered [25], and some other larger rings [6]. Selected examples where halides 10-13 were converted to biaryls 14-17 are given in the Scheme 2 [14,16,17,19]. 

Wang et al have used the AMl/FF approach for static properties and ZlNDO/SCl to study the -hyperpolarizabdity of some azulene derivatives. High values are obtained and it is concluded that the azulene ring is a more efficient conjugation bridge between donor and acceptor than either benzene or thiophene. They use the same methods in a study of push-pull polyenes containing nonaromatic cycfic olefines and for tetra-substituted benzenes and pyrazines. 

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