Azulene

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Azulene
Chemical name bicyclo[5.3.0]decapentaene
Chemical formula C10H8
Molecular mass 128.17 g/mol
Melting point 99 - 100 °C
Boiling point 242 °C
Density g/cm3
CAS number 275-51-4
SMILES C12=CC=CC=CC1=CC=C2
Disclaimer and references

Azulene is an organic compound and a monoterpene. It is an isomer of naphthalene but its physical properties are quite different. Naphthalene is a white crystalline solid whereas azulene, whose name is derived from the Spanish word azul, meaning "blue", is a dark blue crystalline solid used in many cosmetics. Azulene has a long history dating back to the 15th century as the azure-blue distillate obtained by steam distillation of Chamomile. The compound was discovered and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse in azure-blue distillates from other sources such as yarrow and wormwood. Lavoslav Ružička solved the structure for this compound and the first organic synthesis followed in 1937 by Placidus Plattner.

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[edit] Derivatives

Vetivazulene or 4,8-dimethyl-2-isopropylazulene is obtained from vetiver oil. Guaiazulene or 1,4-dimethyl-7-isopropylazulene occurs naturally as a constituent of guaiac wood oil.

[edit] Structure

Azulene consists of a fused cyclopentadiene ring and a cycloheptatriene ring and is an isomer of naphthalene. Azulene is 10 pi electron system just like cyclodecapentaene and does have aromatic properties even though it is not a single ring system like benzene. The peripheral bonds have similar lengths and only the shared bond in the middle is a single bond. The stability gain from aromaticity is half of that of naphthalene. The molecule can be considered a fusion product of a 6 pi electron cyclopentadienyl anion which is aromatic and the likewise aromatic 6 pi electron tropylium cation. The observed dipole moment of 0.8 Debye (very different from naphthalene) is consistent with this picture.

[edit] Organic synthesis

For many years not many synthetic routes existed to azulene and the compound was therefore expensive. A recent contribution takes cycloheptatriene as starting material [1].

Azulene procedure. step 1: cycloheptatriene 2+2 cycloaddition with dichloro ketene step 2: diazomethane insertion reaction step 3: dehydrohalogenation reaction with DMF step 4: carbonyl reduction to alcohol with sodium borohydride step 5: elimination reaction with Burgess reagent step 6: oxidation with p-chloranil step 7: dehalogenation with PMHS, palladium(II) acetate , potassium phosphate and the DPDB ligand
Azulene procedure. step 1: cycloheptatriene 2+2 cycloaddition with dichloro ketene step 2: diazomethane insertion reaction step 3: dehydrohalogenation reaction with DMF step 4: carbonyl reduction to alcohol with sodium borohydride step 5: elimination reaction with Burgess reagent step 6: oxidation with p-chloranil step 7: dehalogenation with PMHS, palladium(II) acetate , potassium phosphate and the DPDB ligand

In naphth[a]azulenes, a naphthalene ring is condensed with the 1,2-position of an azulene ring. In one such system [2] deformation from planarity is found similar to that of tetrahelicene.

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Approach to the Blues: A Highly Flexible Route to the Azulenes Sébastien Carret, Aurélien Blanc, Yoann Coquerel, Mikaël Berthod, Andrew E. Greene, Jean-Pierre Deprés Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 44, Issue 32 , Pages 5130 - 5133 2005 Abstract
  2. ^ Novel Synthesis of Benzalacetone Analogues of Naphth[a]azulenes by Intramolecular Tropylium Ion-Mediated Furan Ring-Opening Reaction and X-ray Investigation of a Naphth[1,2-a]azulene Derivative Kimiaki Yamamura, Shizuka Kawabata, Takatomo Kimura, Kazuo Eda, and Masao Hashimoto J. Org. Chem.; 2005; 70(22) pp 8902 - 8906; (Article) DOI: 10.1021/jo051409f Abstract