Topology Selection and Tautoleptic Aggregation: Formation of an Enantlomerically Pure Supramolecular Belt over a Helix

摘要

The understanding of self-assembly processes is one of the most important areas of today's science, and the assembly of monomers to discrete cyclic structures by hydrogen bonding is one of the major areas of supramolecular chemistry. Despite developments in the field, there are still important issues to be addressed in the design of supramolecular structures. One such issue is the self-assembly of cyclic cavities that have enantiomerically pure skeletons derived from enantiomerically pure monomers, where the challenge is to favor cyclic aggregation over helical polymerization. Both the cyclic and helical topologies can have important applications. Self-assembled cavity compounds can be used for applications in catalysis and recognition, and helical aggregates can transport compounds in their interior. For the same "angle bar" (Figure 1, center), the position of the hydrogen-bonding motif will influence the likelihood to form a cyclic structure. Another issue has to do with the economical and practical aspects of the synthesis of the monomers.