Light‐Powered Atroposelective Ratcheting via Excited‐State Donor–Acceptor Interactions
Journal
Chemistry – A European Journal
ISSN
0947-6539
1521-3765
Date Issued
2026-07-08
Author(s)
Chiu, Chun‐Wei
Lu, Hsiu‐Feng
Narra, Sudhakar
Diau, Eric Wei‐Guang
Chang, Chun‐Fu
Hsu, Chao‐Ping
Abstract
A light-powered atroposelective ratcheting system based on a desymmetrized pentiptycene scaffold is reported. This structural framework enforces templated donor–acceptor (D–A) arrangements capable of distinguishing between rapidly equilibrating atropisomers, enabling atroposelective Z → E photoisomerization that selectively suppresses the consumption of one atropisomer and leads to its accumulation under continuous irradiation. Ultrafast transient spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations reveal that this photochemical atroposelectivity arises from electronic interactions between the donor and acceptor moieties in the excited state. Such an atroposelective ratchet could potentially be harnessed to construct light-driven rotary molecular motors (LRMMs). These results highlight the role of conformer-dependent photochemistry in achieving precise photochemical control over molecular motion.
Subjects
atropisomerism
donor–acceptor systems
light-powered ratchets
pentiptycene
Publisher
Wiley
Type
journal article