A general method for constructing optically active supramolecular assemblies from intrinsically achiral...

We have developed a general method to construct optically active porphyrin supramolecular assemblies by using a simple air-water interfacial assembly process. The method involved the in situ diprotonation of the free-base porphyrins at the air-water interface and subsequent assembly under compression. We showed that two intrinsically achiral water-insoluble free-base porphyrin derivatives, 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)OEP) and 5,10,15,20-tetra-p-tolyl-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)TPPMe), could be diprotonated when spread onto a 2.4 M hydrochloric acid solution surface, and the Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) films fabricated from the subphase exhibited strong circular dichroism (CD) absorption, whereas those fabricated from pure Milli-Q water subphase did not. The experimental data suggested that the helical stacking of the achiral porphyrin building blocks was responsible for the supramolecular chirality of the assemblies. Interestingly, such a method was successfully applied to a series of other intrinsically achiral free-base porphyrins such as 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-methoxyphenyl)-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)TPPOMe), 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)TPP), 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-(allyloxy)phenyl)-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)TPPOA), and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-21H,23H-porphine (H(2)TPPDOMe). A possible mechanism has been proposed. The method provides a facile way to obtain optically active porphyrin supramolecular assemblies by using intrinsically achiral water-insoluble free-base porphyrin derivatives.