Angewandte
Chemie
and a positive CD signal at 564 nm. These wavelengths are
only slightly blue-shifted (12–28 nm) relative to those of
2Cu2, which suggests that the monocopper complex also has
M,M helicity. This monocopper complex was converted into
the dicopper complex by using excess Cu(OAc)2·H2O in the
presence of triethylamine at room temperature. CD analysis
of the product verified the ee value of 12%. Thus, the ee value
was not affected by the second metalation process to give
2Cu2. The reaction of 2 with the copper(II) carboxylate
derived from (R)-(ꢀ)-mandelic acid led to 2Cu2 with 13% ee
and with a positive first Cotton effect at 697 nm.
Optically active amines were used under homogeneous
reaction conditions for the asymmetric synthesis of 2Cu and
2Cu2 in a much shorter reaction time than the 24 h required
for the complete conversion of 2 under the heterogeneous
reaction conditions with mandelic acid. When 2 was added to
a solution of (R)-(+)-1-(1-phenyl)ethylamine (10 equiv) and
CuCl2·2H2O (5 equiv) in CH2Cl2, 2 reacted completely to give
2Cu in 2 h. However, the ee value for helical chirality was
very small (Table 1, entry 1). An increase in the concentration
of (R)-(+)-1-(1-phenyl)ethylamine (80 equiv) retarded the
Figure 3. a) Theoretical and experimental UV/Vis spectra; b) theoret-
ical and experimental CD spectra; c) coupling electronic transitions
that give rise to the absorption band 18 and the sign of the
corresponding Cotton effect in the left-handed cyclooctapyrrole
M,M enantiomer. The theoretical spectra were calculated for the
macrocyclic core of (M,M)-2Cu2, and the experimental spectra were
recorded for the enantiomer of 2Cu2 that was eluted second by HPLC.
The bars indicate the positions and oscillator strength (f) or rotary
strength (Rr) of the transitions (18, 21, 22) calculated by TDDFT.
Table 1: Asymmetric synthesis of 2Cu in the presence of (R)-(+)-1-
(1-phenyl)ethylamine.[a]
functional theory (TDDFT) revealed that the electronic
transitions along the long axes of the p-conjugated bisdipyrrin
chromophores connecting the two copper sites are respon-
sible for the absorption band 18 in the theoretical UV/Vis
spectra. Since this absorption band correlates with a negative
sign in the theoretical CD spectrum, the absolute configu-
ration of 2Cu2 determined by calculation is in agreement with
that determined on the basis of the CD exciton chirality
method. In the figure-eight screw shown in Figure 3c, the
transition in the front bisdipyrrin chromophore couples with
the transition in the back bisdipyrrin chromophore. When the
coupling dipole direction is counterclockwise, as for the
M,M enantiomer, a negative Cotton effect can be predicted
according to the CD exciton chirality method.[9] Thus, M,M
helicity was assigned to the enantiomer of 2Cu2 eluted second
from the HPLC column.
Entry
Molar ratio
t [h]
T [8C]
CD sign
(669 nm)
ee [%][b]
(2Cu)
(amine/Cu/2)
1
2
3
4
10:5:1
80:5:1
800:400:1
800:400:1
2
5
0.25
1.5
RT
RT
RT
0
+
+
+
+
2
13
11
19
[a] A solution of 2 (0.07–0.28 mm) in CH2Cl2 was treated with CuCl2·2H2O
and the amine. [b] The ee value was determined by using jDe583ꢀDe496
j
as an index after conversion into 2Cu2 with Cu(OAc)2·H2O.
metalation reaction, but the ee value of 2Cu was improved to
13% (Table 1, entry 2). The use of a large excess of a mixture
of (R)-(+)-1-(1-phenyl)ethylamine and CuCl2·2H2O in a 2:1
ratio at low temperature further improved the ee value of 2Cu
(Table 1, entry 4).
We reported previously that porphyrinoids can be induced
to adopt a particular unidirectional helical conformation
preferentially by protonation with optically active carboxylic
acids.[7b,10] In fact, the addition of 200 equivalents of (S)-(+)-
mandelic acid to a solution of 2 in CH2Cl2 caused the
appearance of a CD spectrum that is quite similar to that of
(M,M)-2Cu2 (see the Supporting Information). This result led
us to investigate the enantioselective formation of stable
cyclooctapyrrole metal complexes. The copper(II) salt pre-
pared by the addition of (S)-(+)-mandelic acid sodium salt
(4 equiv) in MeOH to CuCl2·2H2O in water was used as the
metal source. The treatment of copper(II) (S)-(+)-mandelate
(30–40 equiv) with 2 in CH2Cl2 for 24 h resulted in the
formation of a mixture of 2Cu and 2Cu2. The CD spectrum of
the product 2Cu2 showed a negative first Cotton effect at
697 nm. The ee value of 2Cu2 based on the CD intensity
(12% ee) was in good agreement with that determined by
HPLC analysis (14% ee). Complex 2Cu formed in this
experiment showed negative CD signals at 669 and 484 nm
As noted above, the rates for the first metal-insertion
process to give (M,M)-2Cu and (P,P)-2Cu (k1M and k1P,
respectively) are dependent on the temperature and the
amount of the optically active amine used (Table 1 and
Scheme 2). To gain insight into the effect of the optically
active amine on the second metalation step, a racemic mixture
of 2Cu was treated with (R)-(+)-1-(1-phenyl)ethylamine
(10 equiv) and CuCl2·2H2O (5 equiv) in CH2Cl2. Although
these reaction conditions do not lead to a remarkable
difference between k1M and k1P (Table 1, entry 1), an ee value
of 33% was observed for the P,P helical form of 2Cu2 in the
initial stages of the second metalation step (Table 2, entry 1).
Thus, the rate (k2P) for the metal insertion into (P,P)-2Cu is
twice as high as the rate (k2M) for the metal insertion into
(M,M)-2Cu. As the metalation proceeds, (P,P)-2Cu is con-
sumed faster, which is consistent with the development of an
excess of the M,M helical form of 2Cu. Thus, 72% ee was
observed for the M,M helical form of 2Cu in the final stage of
the metalation (Table 2, entry 5). These results show that
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 771 –775
ꢀ 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
773