Mechanochemical Synthesis of Corannulene‐Based Curved Nanographenes

Abstract

Abstract It is shown that corannulene‐based strained π‐surfaces can be obtained through the use of mechanochemical Suzuki and Scholl reactions. Besides being solvent‐free, the mechanochemical synthesis is high‐yielding, fast, and scalable. Therefore, gram‐scale preparation can be carried out in a facile and sustainable manner. The synthesized nanographene structure carries positive (bowl‐like) and negative (saddle‐like) Gaussian curvatures and adopts an overall quasi‐monkey saddle‐type of geometry. In terms of properties, the non‐planar surface exhibits a high electron affinity that was measured by cyclic voltammetry, with electrolysis and in situ UV/vis spectroscopy experiments indicating that the one‐electron reduced state displays a long lifetime in solution. Overall, these results indicate the future potential of mechanochemistry in accessing synthetically challenging and functional curved π‐systems.