Practical synthesis of bis-substituted tetrazines with two pendant 2-pyrrolyl or 2-thienyl groups, precursors of new conjugated polymers

Novel linear oligoheterocycles based on substituted tetrazines are described. The desired compounds have been accomplished by a variation of the original Pinner [Ann. Chem., 297 (1897) 221] synthesis in which the aromatic nitrile reacted with hydrazine in an aqueous solution to give bis(pyrrolyl)tetrazines or bis(phenyl)tetrazines. The bis(phenyl)tetrazines reacted with 3,4-ethylenedioxy-2-(trimethyltin)thiophene or 2-(trimethyltin)thiophene in the presence of Pd(PPh3)2Cl2 or Pd(PPh3)4 as catalyst to give the desired compounds. Quantum-chemical calculations were performed to assess the usefulness of the synthesized compounds for electropolymerization. Studies have indicated qualitative difference between bis-pyrrole tetrazine and bis-phenyl tetrazines regarding the electronic density rearrangement due to the loss of an electron.