Supramolecular Weaving by Halogen-Bonding in Functionality-Rich Hexasubstituted Aromatic Synthons

Abstract

Hexasubstituted benzenes are interesting platforms for the generation of functional materials, whose applications span from supramolecular recognition to organic electronics. Their synthesis is difficult to achieve by controlling multiple substitution steps of all hydrogen atoms on the aromatic benzene skeleton, so, often, cycloaddition reactions from disubsituted alkynes are used. In this work, we report a novel, straightforward route to C3-symmetrical hexasubstituted aromatic synthons with a diverse and rich pattern of functionalities, and we report about their packing mode in the crystals, in which, unprecedentedly, directional, strong halogen bonding interactions are capable of forming bidimensional supramolecular weaving.