Regio- and diastereo-controlled synthesis of bis(formylmethano)[60]fullerenes and their application to the formation of [60]fullerene pearl-necklace polyimines

The tether-directed method was firstly applied to the biscyclopropanation of [60]fullerene via the addition–elimination reaction of bis(sulfonium ylide)s to give bis(formylmethano)[60]fullerenes with satisfactory regio- and stereoselectivity. The equatorial-bisadduct thus obtained was used for the polycondensation with an aromatic diamine to afford the corresponding pearl-necklace polyimine with satisfactorily high degree of polymerization.