Four different hexahelicenes, 5-aza-hexahelicene (1), hexahelicene (2), 2-methyl-hexahelicene (3), and 2-bromo-hexahelicene (4), were prepared and their enantiomers, which are stable at r.t., were separated. Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra were measured for compound 1; for all the compounds, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) spectra were recorded. Each type of experimental spectrum was compared with the corresponding theoretical spectrum, determined via Density Functional Theory (DFT). Following the recent papers by Nakai et al., this comparison allowed to identify some features related to the helicity and some other features typical of the substituent groups on the helical backbone. The Raman spectrum of compound 1 is also examined from this point of view

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It was serendipitously observed that cis-[PtCl2(NCEt)PPh3] reacted differently with either racemic or enantiopure 4-aza[6]helicene, giving respectively cis (racemic) and trans (enantiopure) [Pt(II)Cl2(4-aza[6]helicene)PPh3] complexes. This unexpected reactivity is explained through a dynamic process (crystallization-induced diastereoselective transformation) and enables a new aspect of reactivity in chiral transition-metal complexes to be addressed.