Ground state Pi-electron triplet molecules of potential use in the synthesis of organic ferromagnets

2,3,6,7,10,11-Tris(N,N′-diethylethylenediamino)triphenylene (HET) has been synthesized by a route involving hexabromination of triphenylene, reaction with ethylenediamine, hexa-acetylation, and reduction with diborane. Cyclic voltammetry shows that HET can be reversibly oxidized to a mono-cation HET+, a dication HET2+, a trication HET3+, and a tetraction HET4+. Beyond that the oxidation is irreversible. The dication HET2+ is a ground-state triplet species. This fact, and the low oxidation potential required to produce it, make it of interest in testing proposed mechanism for preparing organic ferromagnetic materials.