Synthesis, structure, and resolution of exceptionally twisted pentacenes

9,10,11,20,21,22-hexaphenyltetrabenzo[a,c,l,n]pentacene (2) and a dimethyl derivative (2m) were prepared by the reaction of 1,3-diphenylphenanthro[9,10-c] furan with bisaryne equivalents generated from 1,2,4,5-tetrabromo-3,6-diarylbenzenes in the presence of n-butyllithium, followed by deoxygenation of the double adducts with low-valent titanium. Both are bright red solids with a strong orange fluorescence in solution. The X-ray structures of these compounds show them to be the most highly twisted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons known. Compound 2 has an end-to-end twist of 144 degrees, and the two crystallographically independent molecules of 2m have twists of 138 degrees and 143 degrees. Both molecules were resolved by chromatography on chiral supports, and the pure enantiomers have extremely high specific rotations (for 2, [alpha](D) = 7400 degrees; for 2m, 5600 degrees), but the molecules racemize slowly at room temperature (Delta G(rac)(dagger) = 24 kcal/mol). Both the experimental geometry and the observed racemization barrier for 2 are in good agreement with computational studies of the molecule at a variety of levels. Attempts to prepare compound 2 by reaction of tetraphenylbenzyne with 9,10,12,13-tetraphenyl-11-oxacyclopenta[b] triphenylene (3, a twisted isobenzofuran) gave no adducts, and attempts to prepare tetradecaphenylpentacene by reaction of hexaphenylisobenzofuran (11) with bisaryne equivalents gave only monoadducts.