Azulenes tetrafluoroborate

Triphenylpyrylium tetrafluoroborate is a versatile and useful stable starting material. Its reaction with nitromethane under basic conditions has made 2,4,6-triphenylnitrobenzene easily available. In addition, pyrylium salts are readily converted to a variety of pyridine derivatives i i . 20 including alkyl- and arylpyridinium salts, to thiopyrylium salts," and to substituted azulenes. ... 

Azulenes.1 In the presence of this polymer as an acid scavenger, tropylium tetrafluoroborate undergoes [3 +2]cyclization with simple allenylsilanes to form azulenes. Trimethoxymethylsilane is the preferred scavenger in the case of higher substituted allenes. 

Synthesis of Azulenes. Reaction of tropylium cations with allenylsilanes produces substituted azulenes. Typically, commercially available tropylium tetrafluoroborate (2 equiv) is ert5)loyed. The second equivalent dehydrogenates the dihydroazu-lene intermediate to produce the aromatic product. Poly(4-vinyl-P3Tidine) (poly (4-VP)) or methyltrimethoxysilane is used to scavenge the HBF4 produced in the reaction. 

---