School of Chemistry

Chris Gabbutt

Lecturer
Research section: Colour Science

Contact details

Keywords

Photochromism
Organic photochromic compounds
Molecular switches
Organic synthesis
Heterocyclic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry

Research interests

Photochromism and the design and synthesis of novel photochromic materials. Systems based on fused-ring derivatives of 2H-pyran and 2H-1,4-oxazine, currently the most industrially significant photochromes are under active investigation. Optical molecular switches from compounds containing diheteroaryl alkene motifs, merocyanine dyes, valence tautomerism, electrocyclic reactions. The synthesis and functionalisation of benzopyran and benzothiopyrans. Rearrangements of acylbenzopyranone derivatives initiated by acid, or by organolithiums, organocuprates or phosphorus ylides. Ring and lateral lithiation and reductive lithiation of chromones, xanthones and xanthendiones. Synthesis of benzopyrans possessing iso-condensed furan, thiophene and pyrrole rings. Cycloaddition chemistry of furobenzopyrans, heterocyclic o-quinodimethane equivalents, benzothiophene chemistry, the Zav’yalov pyrrole synthesis, isoxazole and benzisoxazole chemistry.

Selected publications

C D Gabbutt, J D Hepworth, M W J Urquhart and L M Vazquez de Miguel, Acid catalysed rearrangements of 1-hydroxy-2,3,4,4a-tetrahydro-9H-xanthen-9-ones; Synthesis and cycloaddition reactions of 3,4-dihydro-9H-xanthen-9-ones, J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 1, 1998, p. 1547

C D Gabbutt, J D Hepworth, B M Heron and J-L Thomas, A novel acylative ring cleavage of benzothieno[3,2-b]pyran-4-ols: application to the synthesis of dibenzothiophenes and fused-ring derivatives, Chem. Commun., 1999, p. 541

C D Gabbutt, T Gelbrich, J D Hepworth, B M Heron, M B Hursthouse and S M Partington, Synthesis and Photochromic Properties of Some Fluorine-Containing Naphthopyrans, Dyes and Pigments, 2002, vol. 54, p. 79

G E Daia, C D Gabbutt, J D Hepworth, B M Heron, D E Hibbs and M B Hursthouse, Synthesis and cycloadditions of 9H-furo[3,4-b][1]benzo(thio)pyran-9-ones: furan ring formation by a novel hydrolytically induced cycloreversion, Tetrahedron Letters, 2002, vol. 43, p. 4507