Light driven synthetic molecular motors represent crucial building blocks for advanced molecular machines and their applications. A standing challenge is the development of very fast molecular motors able to perform rotations with kHz, MHz or even faster frequencies. Central to this challenge is the direct experimental evidence of directionality because analytical methods able to follow very fast motions rarely deliver precise geometrical insights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpirobifluorenes are an important class of spiro compounds frequently used in the field of organic electronics. However, harnessing spiroconjugation to obtain high-performance in such structural motifs remains unexplored. We herein propose that peripheral functionalization may serve as a useful tool to control spiroconjugation in an ON/OFF manner on both chemical reactivity and photophysical properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral theoretical studies have proposed strategies to generate helical molecular orbitals (Hel-MOs) in [n]cumulenes and oligoynes. While chiral even-[n] cumulenes feature Hel-MOs, odd-[n] cumulenes may also present them if the terminal groups lie in different planes. However, the proposed systems have been either experimentally unfeasible or resulted in opposite pseudo-degenerated Hel-MOs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChiroptical responses have been an essential tool over the last decades for chemical structural elucidation due to their exceptional sensitivity to geometry and intermolecular interactions. In recent times, there has been an increasing interest in the search for more efficient sensing by the rational design of tailored chiroptical systems. In this review article, advances made in chiroptical systems towards their implementation in sensing applications are summarized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChiroptical spectroscopic methods serve as a practical tool for the structural characterization of chiral systems based on the interaction with polarized light. The higher sensitivity of these methods, compared with their achiral counterparts, not only enables the determination of absolute configuration and conformational preferences, but also supramolecular interactions may be monitored. In order to expand the applicability of chiroptical systems, the development of functional materials exhibiting intense chiroptical responses is essential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpirobifluorene derivatives find use in many end-user applications. Therefore, further expansion of their scope is the focus of many research studies. However, although the optical properties of spirobifluorenes can be greatly tuned through incorporation of metal complexes, to date, spirobifluorene metallaaromatics remain unknown.
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