4,4′-Di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridinium Trifluoromethanesulfonate

4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate was synthesized by stirring 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine with scandium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate in acetonitrile, followed by precipitation with diethyl ether. The structure of the new compound was characterized by FT-IR, 1H, 13C{1H} and 19F{1H} NMR spectroscopy and CHN elemental analysis. This is a safe and simple method to obtain mono-protonated bipyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate without the direct use of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid.

Helicene synthesis by Brønsted acid-catalyzed cycloaromatization in HFIP [(CF3)2CHOH]

A facile synthesis of carbo- and heterohelicenes was achieved via tandem cycloaromatization of bisacetal precursors, which were readily prepared through C–C bond formation by Suzuki–Miyaura coupling. This cyclization was efficiently realized by a catalytic amount of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) in a cation-stabilizing solvent, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFIP), which readily allowed gram-scale syntheses of higher-order helicenes, double helical helicenes, and heterohelicenes.