Expression of chiral molecular and supramolecular structure on enantioselective catalytic activity

Understanding the structure-function relationships encoded on chiral catalysts is important for investigating the fundamental principles of catalytic enantioselectivity. Herein, the synthesis and self-assembly of naphthalene substituted bis-l/d-histidine amphiphiles (bis-l/d-NapHis) in DMF/water solution mixture is reported. The resulting supramolecular assemblies featuring well-defined P/M nanoribbons (NRs). With combination of the (P/M)-NR and metal ion catalytic centers (Mⁿ⁺ = Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺), the (P)-NR-Mⁿ⁺ as chiral supramolecular catalysts show catalytic preference to 3,4-dihydroxy-S-phenylalanine (S-DOPA) oxidation while the (M)-NR-Mⁿ⁺ show enantioselective bias to R-DOPA oxidation. In contrast, their monomeric counterparts bis-l/d-NapHis-Mⁿ⁺ display an inverse and dramatically lower catalytic selectivity in the R/S-DOPA oxidation. Among them, the Co²⁺-coordinated supramolecular nanostructures show the highest catalytic efficiency and enantioselectivity (select factor up to 2.70), while the Fe³⁺-coordinated monomeric ones show nearly racemic products. Analysis of the kinetic results suggests that the synergistic effect between metal ions and the chiral supramolecular NRs can significantly regulate the enantioselective catalytic activity, while the metal ion-mediated monomeric bis-l/d-NapHis were less active. The studies on association constants and activation energies reveal the difference in catalytic efficiency and enantioselectivity resulting from the different energy barriers and binding affinities existed between the chiral molecular/supramolecular structures and R/S-DOPA enantiomers. This work clarifies the correlation between chiral molecular/supramolecular structures and enantioselective catalytic activity, shedding new light on the rational design of chiral catalysts with outstanding enantioselectivity.