A series of C₂-symmetric chiral tetra-dentate ligands were prepared by using [4,5]- or [5,6]-pinene-fused 2,2′-bipyridyl units that are supported across a rigid arylene–ethynylene backbone. These conformationally pre-organised chelates support stable 1:1 metal complexes, which were fully characterised by UV/Vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. A careful inspection of the exciton-coupled circular dichroism (ECCD) and ¹H NMR spectra of the reaction mixture in solution, however, revealed the evolution and decay of intermediate species en route to the final 1:1 metal–ligand adduct. Consistent with this model, mass spectrometric analysis revealed the presence of multiple metal complexes in solution at high ligand-to-metal ratios, which were essentially unobservable by UV/Vis or fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. Comparative studies with a bi-dentate model system have fully established the functional role of the π-conjugated ligand skeleton that dramatically enhances the thermodynamic stability of the 1:1 complex. In addition to serving as a useful spectroscopic handle to understand the otherwise “invisible” solution dynamics of this metal–ligand assembly process, temperature-dependent changes in the proton resonances associated with the chiral ligands allowed us to determine the activation barrier (ΔG^≠) for the chirality switching between the thermodynamically stable but kinetically labile (P)- and (M)-stereoisomers.

Cooperative interaction between multiple chiral centers dictates the absolute handedness of structural folding. We have designed and prepared a series of chiral C₃-symmetric tris(N-salicylidenamine) derivatives that adopt three-blade propeller-like conformations. Synthetic access to an expanded family of such constructs was aided by enzymatic resolution and C–C cross-coupling reactions of aryl-substituted chiral propargylic alcohol derivatives. These key structural components were integrated into molecular propellers of predetermined helical screw sense. Through comparative studies on a homologous set of molecules, we found that installation of phenylene-ethynylene-derived π-conjugation profoundly affected the stabilities of the helically folded structures, as evidenced by UV/Vis and circular dichroism (CD) studies. Increasing the number of hydrogen bonds through additional substitution also enhanced the populations of the folded conformations in solution. In addition to introducing steric bias to control structural folding, linearly π-conjugated groups function as spatially well-defined chromophores that give rise to characteristic exciton-coupled circular dichroism. Absolute configurations of chiral centers could thus be further confirmed by comparing the torsional relationships between pairs of chromophores on adjacent subunits, which are fully consistent with the computationally predicted structural models.