Though [60]fullerene is an achiral molecular nanocarbon with Ih symmetry, it could attain an inherent chirality depending upon a functionalization pattern. The conventional chiral induction of C60 relies mainly upon a multiple addition affording a mixture of achiral and chiral isomers while their chiral function would be largely offset by the existence of pseudo-mirror plane(s). These are major obstacles to proceed further study on fullerene chirality and yet leave its understanding elusive. Herein, we showcase a carbene-mediated synthesis of C1 -symmetric chiral open [60]fullerenes showing an intense far-red to near-infrared absorption. The large dissymmetry factor of |gabs |=0.12 was achieved at λ=820 nm for circular dichroism in benzonitrile. This is, in general, unachievable by other small chiral organic molecules, demonstrating the potential usage of open [60]fullerenes as novel types of chiral chromophores.
Keywords: Carbenes; Chirality; Near-Infrared; Open Fullerenes; Ring Expansion.
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