Internal-Edge-Substituted Coumarin-Fused [6]Helicenes: Asymmetric Synthesis, Structural Features, and Control of Self-Assembly.

π-Conjugated helicenes containing heteroatoms have attracted significant attention due to their diverse chemical and electronic structures, as well as tunable physical properties. It was rationally anticipated that the self-assembly of coumarin-fused helicenes would be controlled by the effects of a substituent on the internal edge of the helix. Here, this work reports the efficient syntheses of coumarin-fused helicenes 1 a,b (R=Ph, Me), and the enantioselective synthesis of 1 a (R=Ph) by chiral Au -catalyzed hydroarylation. The helical structure of 1 was unambiguously determined by X-ray crystallography. Of particular note, the enantiomerically pure crystal of 1 a adopted a one-dimensional columnar structure based on π-π stacking interactions, as expected. Furthermore, a significant difference between the fluorescence quantum yields of the enantiomerically pure form and racemate of 1 a was observed.