| Supramolecular building blocks were designed and synthesized for use in self-assembly syntheses. The utility of hydrogen and/or dative bonds to direct the self-assembly process for the fabrication of supramolecular complexes capable of specific tasks was investigated.; Photochromic chiral dithienylethenes formed optically pure helicates in a spontaneous "chiral-directed" self-assembly process. The rigid positioning of the photochrome within the helicate resulted in the preferential formation of one of the stereoisomers during the ring-closing photochromic reaction. The resulting two states of the photochrome ( ring-open and ring-closed) exhibited contrasting ORD curves. This formed the basis for a non-invasive write-read-erase system.; A series of racemic helicenes were prepared. Their ability to selectively and spontaneously self-assemble into predictable architectures was investigated. The discriminating self-assembly process for [7]-helicene was enantiospecific in solution and diastereoselective in the crystal.; Novel synthons, containing both hydrogen and dative bond recognition sites, were synthesized for the construction of discrete self-assembled arrays with potential applications in inclusion chemistry.; The keto-enol equilibrium of terpyridine derivatives was evaluated in the gas, solution and solid-state using IR spectroscopy, variable temperature 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The results showed the enol to be predominant in the gas phase, while the more polar keto form is predominant in solution. In the solid-state a mixed dieter (1:1) is present. |
