Chiral Poly(4‐ethynylbenzoyl‐L‐valine)‐Induced Helical Self‐Assembly of Alkynylplatinum(II) Terpyridyl Complexes with Tunable Electronic Absorption, Emission, and Circular Dichroism Changes

The aggregation and self‐assembly of square‐planar alkynylplatinum(II) complexes is induced by the use of a chiral polyacetylene with a helical conformation (see scheme). The chain helicity of the chiral polyacetylene under basic conditions has also been demonstrated to be enhanced by the presence of the positively charged platinum(II) complexes. magnified image A chiral amino acid‐containing polyacetylene, poly(4‐ethynylbenzoyl‐ L ‐valine), was found to induce the aggregation and self‐assembly of square‐planar alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complexes by electrostatic binding of the positively charged metal complexes to the anionic sites of the polyacetylene, as revealed by the appearance of new UV/Vis absorption and emission bands upon mixing under basic conditions. The induced complex self‐assembly was found to be influenced by the polyacetylene and/or base concentration, and the effect of pH on the reversibility of the aggregate/monomer interconversion was also studied. The conformational changes of the polyacetylene were probed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, in which the chirality signal of the corresponding chain helicity in the presence of the base was enhanced and stabilized upon addition of the platinum(II) complexes. The induced complex aggregation was dependent on the structural properties of the polyacetylene, while the chirality of the polyacetylene was strongly influenced by the introduction of the complex.