Bipyridine-Containing Optically Active π‑Conjugated Polymers Derived from Amino Alcohols: Examination of the Higher-Order Structures, Chiral Recognition, and Metal Coordination Based on Quantum Mechanical and Molecular Dynamics Calculations

Helical π-conjugated polymers
are promising as
optically
active functional materials. The present paper reports the synthesis
of novel bipyridine-containing π-conjugated polymers with optically
active amino-alcohol-derived side chains, examination of their higher-order
structures, chiral recognition, and metal coordination properties.
The polymers adopt a folded helical conformation and aggregate in
CHCl3/MeOH depending on the solvent composition, as supported
by density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations.
The polymer films showed differences in contact angles with aqueous
solutions of (R)- and (S)-alcohols.
Addition of some metal chlorides and perchlorates changed the intensity
and color of the photoluminescence of the polymers.