Revisiting the racemization mechanism of helicenes†
Abstract
Herein we propose a general mechanism for the racemization of [n]helicenes up to n = 24. It is a concerted process for n = 4–7, but a multi-step mechanism is followed for n ≥ 8, involving 2n − 14 intermediates. The changes in the barriers are a delicate consequence of the steric hindrance and the π-interactions.