Solvent-induced helical assembly and reversible chiroptical switching of chiral cyclic-dipeptide-functionalized naphthalenediimides.

Understanding the roles of various parameters in orchestrating the preferential chiral molecular organization in supramolecular self-assembly processes is of great significance in designing novel molecular functional systems. Cyclic dipeptide (CDP) chiral auxiliary-functionalized naphthalenediimides (NCDPs 1-6) have been prepared and their chiral self-assembly properties have been investigated. Detailed photophysical and circular dichroism (CD) studies have unveiled the crucial role of the solvent in the chiral aggregation of these NCDPs. NCDPs 1-3 form supramolecular helical assemblies and exhibit remarkable chiroptical switching behaviour (M- to P-type) depending on the solvent composition of HFIP and DMSO. The strong influence of solvent composition on the supramolecular chirality of NCDPs has been further corroborated by concentration and solid-state thin-film CD studies. The chiroptical switching between supramolecular aggregates of opposite helicity (M and P) has been found to be reversible, and can be achieved through cycles of solvent removal and redissolution in solvent mixtures of specific composition. The control molecular systems (NCDPs 4-6), with an achiral or D-isomer second amino acid in the CDP auxiliary, did not show chiral aggregation properties. The substantial roles of hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions in the assembly of the NCDPs have been validated through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), photophysical, and computational studies. Quantum chemical calculations at the ab initio, semiempirical, and density functional theory levels have been performed on model systems to understand the stabilities of the right (P-) and left (M-) handed helical supramolecular assemblies and the nature of the intermolecular interactions. This study emphasizes the role of CDP chiral auxiliaries on the solvent-induced helical assembly and reversible chiroptical switching of naphthalenediimides.