Light-Induced Atroposelective N-Heterocyclization via Chiral Perovskite Nanocrystals

Project Summary and Abstract Novel method for constructing axially chiral N-heterocyclic molecules can have a significant impact on the manufacture of pharmaceutical-active compounds and other useful organic complexes. Our research program will develop a visible light induced catalytic reaction approach that leads to the direct formation of chiral N-heterocycles that were otherwise challenging to produce. The approach uses chiral semiconductor perovskite materials as the catalyst which are directly derived from well-explored solar cell materials that are bench-top achievable and economical to produce. In the proposed strategy, organic substrates approach perovskite’s chiral surface for charge transfer, leading to the key step for discriminate chiral configuration and thereby resulting in a direct light-induced asymmetric ring-closure reaction. The unprecedented reaction strategy described here is among the first of its kind, has the potential to introduce a wide range of new asymmetric reactions for important axially chiral bio-relevant compounds, and may be considered reliable linchpin reactions suitable for pharmaceutical synthesis.