The Behavior of Substituted Phenalenyl Cations in Very Strong Acid

We have previously shown that hydroxyl-substituted phenalenyl cations such as 1a react with protons in very strong acid to form dications, some of which are seen by nmr. The extent of diprotonation depended on the number and location of the hydroxyl groups and the acid strength. In order to learn more above these intriguing reactions, we have extended these studies to phenalenyl cations having a variety of substituents. The behavior of ions 1b-3 in very strong, non-aqueous acids will be described in this presentation.