Fluorescence of Helical Molecular Springs Under High Pressure
Although the unique structure of helicenes resembles molecular springs, the effects of their extension-contraction cycles on their properties have rarely been explored. Here, we investigated the fluorescence of two π-extended [n]helicenes with different helical lengths n, named [7] and [9], under high pressures in a diamond anvil cell. The experimental results showed that compound [9], with a longer helical length, exhibited a more sensitive fluorescence response than [7] in both crystalline and solvated states upon compression. Theoretical calculations reveal that π-π overlapping at their helices in these molecular springs provides an additional contribution to their fluorescence properties under compression when the overlap becomes sufficiently strong. Our results provide insights into structure-property relationships of helical molecules under high-pressure conditions and verify the potential of helicenes as molecular springs for future applications in molecular machines.
Authors
- Tobias Eklund (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5851-3939)
- Katrin Amann‐Winkel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7319-7807)
- Cheng‐Wei Ju (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2250-8548)
- Weizhao Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7805-2108)
- Zonghang Liu
- Tanja Weil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5906-7205)
- K. Müllen
- Aigerim Karina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1951-5795)
- Jiaxu Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9410-9709)
- Wenhao Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0090-614X)
- Zijie Qiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0728-1178)
- Manfred Wagner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7583-1667)
- Hailong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0974-9638)
Institutions
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (DE)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CN)
- Spiber Technologies (Sweden) (SE)
- Djurkliniken Roslagstull (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-03-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202500923
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Synthesis and Properties of Aromatic Compounds
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.68