Conformational control of propeller-like chirality in Zn(II) complexes: Tightly balanced steric bias

Abstract

The conformational behavior of a series of chiral tripodal ligand-Zn(II) complexes was examined. The ligands adopt propeller-like conformations upon complexation of trigonal bipyramidal metal ions such as Zn(II), with the chirality of the propeller determined by the absolute configuration of a single chiral center in one of the tripod arms. Surprisingly, increasing the size of the substituent in the chiral arm did not improve the geometrical definition of the complexes, as indicated by the circular dichroism spectra of the complexes.