Dynamic covalent chemistry: a facile room-temperature, reversible, Diels-Alder reaction between anthracene derivatives and N-phenyltriazolinedione.

A series of readily accessible, dynamic Diels-Alder reactions that are reversible at room temperature have been developed between anthracene derivatives as dienes and N-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione as the dienophile. The adducts formed undergo reversible component exchange to form dynamic libraries of equilibrating cycloadducts. Furthermore, reversible adduct formation allows temperature-dependent modulation of the fluorescent properties of anthracene components; a feature of potential interest for the design of optodynamic polymeric materials by careful selection and manipulation of these simple dienes and dienophiles.