2,3,5,6‐Tetrafluoro‐1,4‐phenylenedinitrene: A dinitrene with near degenerate singlet and triplet states

Abstract

Abstract The dinitrene 2,3,5,6‐tetrafluoro‐1,4‐phenylenedinitrene was synthesized by photolysis of matrix‐isolated 1,4‐diazido‐2,3,5,6‐tetrafluorobenzene at 365 or 405 nm in high yields at cryogenic temperatures and characterized by FT‐IR, UV‐Vis, and EPR spectroscopy. The electronic structure of the dinitrene is described best as a quinoidal diradical with an open‐shell singlet ground state and a triplet state laying only 650 ± 5 cal/mol higher in energy. Irradiation with λ = 254 nm results in fragmentation of the dinitrene into FCCF and several olefins which on prolonged photolysis fragment into FCCCN, FCCNC, and FCN.

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