A Double Twisted Nanographene with a Contorted Pyrene Core

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024 Aug 26;63(35):e202406927. doi: 10.1002/anie.202406927. Epub 2024 Jul 16.

Abstract

The mature synthetic methodologies enable us to rationally design and produce chiral nanographenes (NGs), most of which consist of multiple helical motifs. However, inherent chirality originating from twisted geometry has just emerged to be employed in chiral NGs. Herein, we report a red-emissive chiral NG constituted of orthogonally arranged two-fold twisted π-skeletons at a contorted pyrene core which contributes to optical transitions of S0→S1 and vice versa. The thus-obtained NG exhibited a robustness on its redox properties through 2e- uptake/release. The chemical oxidation generated stable radical cation whose absorption covers near-infrared I and II regions. Overall, the contorted pyrene core governs electronic nature of the chiral NG. The twist operation on NGs would be, therefore, a design strategy to alter conventional chirality induction on NGs.

Keywords: chiral nanographene; multiple helicene; pyrene; radical cation; twist chirality.