Photoinversion of cisoid/transoid binaphthyls.

Axially chiral binaphthyl-azobenzene cyclic dyads in which the two moieties are connected by two linkers of different lengths were synthesized. In the case of benzylated-binaphthyl analogue 2b, photoirradiation resulted in a dramatic change of the CD spectrum and optical rotation. Experimental and theoretical analyses indicated that the dihedral angle of the two naphthalene rings is strongly coupled to the azobenzene photoisomerization; cis-azobenzene induces a transoid-binaphthyl structure, while trans-azobenzene induces a cisoid-binaphthyl structure.