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Synthetic Molecular Motors: Thermal N Inversion and Directional Photoinduced CN Bond Rotation of Camphorquinone Imines
Author(s) -
Greb Lutz,
Eichhöfer Andreas,
Lehn JeanMarie
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201506691
Subject(s) - isomerization , molecular motor , imine , thermal , chemistry , inversion (geology) , photochemistry , computational chemistry , materials science , physics , nanotechnology , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , catalysis , paleontology , structural basin , biology
The thermal and photochemical E / Z isomerization of camphorquinone‐derived imines was studied by a combination of kinetic, structural, and computational methods. The thermal isomerization proceeds by linear N inversion, whereas the photoinduced process occurs through CN bond rotation with preferred directionality as a result of diastereoisomerism. Thereby, these imines are arguably the simplest example of synthetic molecular motors. The generality of the orthogonal trajectories of the thermal and photochemical pathways allows for the postulation that every suitable chiral imine qualifies, in principle, as a molecular motor driven by light or heat.