Supramolecular Photochirogenesis with a Higher-Order Complex: Highly Accelerated Exclusively Head-to-Head Photocyclodimerization of 2-Anthracenecarboxylic Acid via 2:2 Complexation with Prolinol.

An unprecedented 2:2 complex was shown to intervene in the enantiodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (A) mediated by a hydrogen-bonding template l-prolinol (P) to accelerate the formation of chiral anti-head-to-head and achiral syn-head-to-head cyclodimers in >99% combined yield with enhanced enantioselectivities of up to 72% ee for the former. The supramolecular complexation and photochirogenic behaviors, as well as the plausible structures, of intervening Am·Pn complexes (m, n = 1 or 2) were elucidated by combined theoretical and experimental spectroscopic, photophysical, and photochemical studies. Furthermore, the photochemical chiral amplification was achieved for the first time by utilizing the preferential 2:2 complexation of A with homochiral P to give normalized product enantioselectivities higher than those of the template used. The present strategy based on the higher-order hydrogen-bonding motif, which is potentially applicable to a variety of carboxylic acids and ß-aminoalcohols, is not only conceptually new and expandable to other (photo)chirogenic and sensing systems but also may serve as a versatile tool for achieving photochemical asymmetric amplification and constructing chiral functional supramolecular architectures.

Enantioselective [4+4] photodimerization of anthracene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid mediated by a C2-symmetric chiral template.

A chiral template was constructed from 7-ethynyl-1,5,7-trimethyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-2-one by Sonogashira cross-coupling with 4,4''-diiodoterphenyl and was shown to bind the title compound strongly by hydrogen bonding resulting in enantioselectivities of up to 55% enantiomeric excess (ee) in the [4+4] anthracene photodimerization.

Excited-State Dynamics Achieved Ultimate Stereocontrol of Photocyclodimerization of Anthracenecarboxylates on a Glucose Scaffold.

Near-perfect stereoselectivity was attained in the diastereodifferentiating [4 + 4] photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylates tethered to a glucose scaffold not by thermodynamically tuning the conformer equilibrium in the ground state but by kinetically controlling the conformer dynamics and reactivity in the excited state, which enabled us, after removal of the scaffold, to obtain a single enantiomer of chiral anti-head-to-head-cyclodimer in >99% optical and 96% chemical yield from an ensemble of four precursor conformers.

Absolute configuration determination of the anti-head-to-head photocyclodimer of anthracene-2-carboxylic acid through cocrystallization with L-prolinol.

The absolute configuration has been established of the enantiopure anti-head-to-head cyclodimer of anthracene-2-carboxylic acid (AC) cocrystallized with L-propinol and dichloromethane [systematic name: (S)-2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidin-1-ium (5R,6S,11R,12S)-8-carboxy-5,6,11,12-tetrahydro-5,12:6,11-bis([1,2]benzeno)dibenzo[a,e][8]annulene-2-carboxylate dichloromethane monosolvate], C5H12NO(+)·C30H19O4(-)·CH2Cl2. In the crystal structure, the AC dimer interacts with L-prolinol through a nine-membered hydrogen-bonded ring [R2(2)(9)], while the dichloromethane molecule is incorporated to fill the void space. The absolute configuration determined in this study verifies a recent assignment made by comparing theoretical versus experimental circular dichroism spectra.

Diastereodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylates tethered to a cyclic tetrasaccharide scaffold: critical control of photoreactivity and stereoselectivity.

From a complex mixture of mono- and di-2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (AC) esters of cyclic nigerosylnigerose (CNN), two monoesters (2(B) and 6(A)) and four diesters in which AC was introduced on the transannular B/D (2(B)2(D)), adjacent A/B and A/D (6(A)2(B) and 6(A)2(D)), and same B/B (2(B)3(B)) nigerose rings were isolated. Possessing two ACs at distant positions, 2(B)2(D) and 6(A)2(D) showed negative Cotton effects for the (1)Bb band, the intensities of which were stronger than that of 6(A). 2(B)2(D) and 6(A)2(D) slowly photocyclodimerized to give HH dimers 3* and 4 with 57% and 81% HH selectivity, respectively, which were appreciably higher than that for 6(A) (34%), while the enantiomeric excesses (ee's) of anti-HH dimer 3* were 2% and -18%, respectively. In contrast, 6(A)2(B) and 2(B)3(B) carrying two ACs on adjacent A and B rings or at vicinal positions on the B ring, respectively, exhibited strong positive CD couplets, the amplitudes of which amounted to 97 and 409 M(-1) cm(-1), respectively. Upon irradiation, 6(A)2(B) afforded 3* with -62% ee and 4 in 96% combined yield, whereas 2(B)3(B) gave almost exclusively 3* with -99% ee in 96% yield, likely as a result of the introduction of two ACs at the vicinal positions of the rigid CNN scaffold.

Cross- versus homo-photocyclodimerization of anthracene and 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid mediated by a chiral hydrogen-bonding template. Factors controlling the cross-/homo-selectivity and enantioselectivity.

Competitive cross-/homo-photocyclodimerization of anthracene (AN) and 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (AC) mediated by a chiral hydrogen-bonding template (TKS) was investigated under various conditions. The cross-photocyclodimerization was favored by a factor of 4-5 at all temperatures and wavelengths examined to afford the AC-AN cross-dimer in 80-84% yield even at AN/AC = 1 and in 98% yield at AN/AC = 10. The enantiomeric excesses (ee's) obtained were 27-47% for the homo-dimers and 21-24% for the cross-dimer. The absolute configuration of the cross-dimer was determined by comparing the experimental and theoretical circular dichroism spectra and further correlated with the re/si enantiotopic-face selectivity upon AC-TKS complexation in the ground state. Detailed analyses of the complexation behavior and the fluorescence lifetime and cyclodimerization rate of excited re/si complexes revealed that the product's ee is critically controlled not only by the relative abundance of the re/si complexes in the ground and excited states but also by their relative photocyclodimerization rate. Crucially, the ground-state thermodynamics and the excited-state kinetics are not synergistic but offsetting in enantiotopic-face selectivity, and the latter overwhelms the former to give the homo- and cross-dimers in modest ee's. Finally, some practical strategies for enhancing the enantioselectivity in chiral template-mediated photochirogenesis have been proposed.

Enantiodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid via competitive binary/ternary hydrogen-bonded complexes with 4-benzamidoprolinol.

Circular dichroism (CD) spectral examinations at various host/guest ratios revealed that 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (AC) forms not only 1:1 but also novel 2:1 hydrogen-bonded/π-stacked complexes with a chiral 4-benzamidoprolinol template (TKS159). The 2:1 complexation is a minor process but causes significant CD spectral changes as a consequence of the exciton coupling interaction of two AC chromophores and greatly accelerates the head-to-head photocyclodimerization to significantly affect the stereochemical outcomes.

Strictly diastereocontrolled photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylates tethered to cyclic tetrasaccharides.

Photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylate tethered to a cyclic nigerosylnigerose scaffold gave a single chiral cyclodimer (out of two achiral and two chiral stereoisomers) in 99% optical and 96% chemical yields, achieving the ultimate stereocontrol of the supramolecular photochirogenesis in aqueous solution at 25 °C.

Supramolecular complexation and enantiodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid with 4-aminoprolinol derivatives as chiral hydrogen-bonding templates.

The photochirogenesis of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (AC) complexed to a hydrogen-bonding template (TKS159) was investigated to obtain mechanistic information on how chirogenesis is achieved for the dimerization of AC. Complexation of AC to TKS159 leads to the shielding of one of the two surfaces of the prochiral AC molecule. The two diastereomeric AC-TKS complexes, i.e., re-AC-TKS and si-AC-TKS, were characterized by changes in the UV-vis, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectra and excited-state lifetimes. The ee is not simply determined by the diastereomeric ratio of the re- and si-AC-TKS complexes but also depends on the relative lifetimes of the diastereomeric complexes. The relative population of the re and si complexes was calculated from the enantiomeric excess (ee) for the products, taking into account the relative lifetimes of the two complexes. These studies established a protocol that can be used to reveal the mechanism for photochirogenesis by investigating the ground state and the excited state behavior of supramolecular systems.

Enantiodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid using a chiral N-(2-hydroxymethyl-4- pyrrolidinyl)benzamide template.

[Structure: see text] Supramolecular enantiodifferentiating photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylic acid (AC) was performed in the presence of (2S,4S)-4-amino-5-chloro-2-methoxy-N-(1-ethyl-2-hydroxymethyl-4-pyrrolidinyl)benzamide (TKS159), and its stereoisomers were employed as chiral templates. The TKS template provides us with a novel hydrogen-bonding and shielding motif for enantioface-selectively binding an AC molecule. Chiral products 2 and 3 were obtained in good enantiomeric excesses (ee's) of 40% and 40%, respectively.