A unique and effective interaction between the peripheral aromatic blades makes hexaarylbenzenes (HABs) attractive in fundamental research as well as for various applications such as molecular wires, sensors, and supramolecular assemblies. The chiroptical responses of HABs are susceptible to environmental factors such as solvent and temperature owing to the dynamic conformational transitions between the conformers. In this study, pressure dependence on the propeller chiral HABs in two different solvents was studied in detail. The effective differential volumes for two different equilibria were determined by quantitative analyses of CD spectra, affording very large differential volumes from the propeller to toroidal conformer (ΔVT-C ) of +43 and +42 cm3 mol-1 , for H2 and H6, respectively, in methylcyclohexane. The value of H6 was further enhanced to +72 cm3 mol-1 in hexane, the largest value for the typical unimolecular conformational change. Such a response of propeller chirality in HABs is expedient in designing more advanced piezo-sensitive materials.
Keywords: circular dichroism; differential volume; hexaarylbenzene; pressure effect; propeller chirality.
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