Chirality control of quadruple helixes of metal strings by peripheral chiral ligands.

Chirality control of helixes with the Δ (P) or Λ (M) form is interesting in various fields such as extended metal atom chains (EMACs), in which the metal backbones are helically wrapped by four ligands. Herein, we report two EMACs, Δ-[Ni5((-)camnpda)4] and Λ-[Ni5((+)camnpda)4], whose chiralities are controlled by chiral ligands with naphthyridine and camphorsulfonyl groups. There is a large energy difference (108 kcal mol(-1)) between the two helical structures with one chiral ligand. Furthermore, the electron communication between [Ni2](3+) units is more pronounced than in [Ni5(bna)4Cl2](2+) (bna=binaphthyridylamido). The results demonstrate control of small-scale helical structure and set the stage for future development of chiral controlled base and nanoelectronic devices.