Diastereoselective Ullmann Coupling to Bishelicenes by Surface Topochemistry

The comparison of the self-assembly 9,9′-bisheptahelicene on the Au(111) surface, studied with scanning tunneling microscopy, with the self-assembly of the same species obtained by on-surface synthesis via Ullmann coupling from 9-bromoheptahelicene reveals a diastereomeric excess for the (M,P)-meso-form of 50%. The stereoselectivity is explained by a topochemical effect, in which the surface-alignment of the starting material and the organometallic intermediate sterically favor the (M,P)-transition state over the homochiral transition states.