Emergence of homochiral benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide helical as- semblies and catalysts upon addition of an achiral monomer
Résumé
Chirality amplification refers to the ability of a small chiral bias to fully control the main chain helicity of polymers and assemblies. Further implementation of functional chirally-amplified helices as switchable asymmetric catalysts, chiral sensors and circularly-polarized light emitters will require a greater control of the energetics governing these chirality amplification effects. In this work, we report on the counterintuitive ability of an achiral molecule to suppress conformational defects in supramolecular helices thus leading to the emergence of homochirality in a system containing a very small chiral bias. We focus our investigation on supramolecular helices composed of an achiral benzene-1,3,5-tri-carboxamide (BTA) ligand, coordinated to copper, and an enanti-opure BTA co-monomer. Amplification of chirality as probed by varying the amount (sergeants-and-soldiers effect) or the optical purity (diluted majority-rules effect) of the enantiopure co-mono-mer, are modest in this initial system. However, both effects are hugely enhanced upon addition of a second achiral BTA monomer leading to a perfect control of the helicity either by means of a remarkably low amount of sergeants (0.5%) or a small bias from a racemic mixture of enantiopure co-monomers (10% e.e.). Such an enhancement in the amplification of chirality is only achieved by mixing the three components, i.e. the two achiral and the enanti-opure co-monomers, highlighting a synergistic effect upon co-assembly of the three monomers. Investigation of the role of the achiral additive by multifarious analytical techniques supports its ability to stabilize the helical co-assemblies and suppress helix reversals i.e. conformational defects. Implementation of these heli-cal copper precatalysts in the hydrosilylation of 1-(4-nitro-phenyl)ethanone confirms that the effect of the achiral BTA additive is also operative under the conditions of the catalytic experiment. A highly enantioenriched product (90% e.e.) is produced by a supramolecular catalyst operating with ppm levels of chiral species .
Domaines
Chimie
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Li et al. - 2020 - Emergence of Homochiral Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxami.pdf (2.63 Mo)
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