Benzenehexapyrrole-α,ω-dialdehyde, composed of a pair of formyltripyrrole units with a 1,3-phenylene linker, was metallated to give dinuclear single-stranded helicates. X-ray studies of the bis-nickel(II) complex showed a helical C2 form with a pair of helical-metal coordination planes of a 3N+O donor set. The terminal aldehyde was readily converted into the imine by optically active amines, whereby helix-sense bias was induced. Bis-nickel(II) and bis-palladium(II) complexes of the benzenehexapyrrole-α,ω-diimines were studied to show that an enantiomer pair of the helical C2 form are interchanged by slow flipping of each coordination plane and fast rotation around the C(benzene)C(pyrrole) bond. The helical screw in the bis-nickel(II) complexes was biased to one side in more than 95 % diastereoselectivity, which was achieved by using a variety of optically active amines, such as (R)-1-cyclohexylethylamine, (S)-1- phenylethylamine, L-Phe(OEt) (Phe=phenylalanine), and (R)-valinol. The nickel complexes showed much better diastereoselectivity than the corresponding palladium complexes.
Keywords: chirality; helical structures; metalation; oligopyrroles; porphyrinoids.
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