Complexation of three (1[Formula: see text],2[Formula: see text]-2-aminocyclohexyl arylthioureas (aryl [Formula: see text] 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl; phenyl; 3,5-dimethylphenyl) as the guests to ZnTPP and ZnOEP hosts has been studied by means of UV-vis, CD spectroscopies and computational simulation. The complexation proceeds via coordination of the primary amino group to the zinc ion of the metalloporphyrin and induces a moderate circular dichroism signal in the Soret band of the porphyrins. The association constants increase with larger electron-withdrawing properties of the porphyrin host and larger electron-donating ability of the guest, indicating predominantly electrostatic (Lewis acid-base) character of the complexation. Computational study of the (1[Formula: see text],2[Formula: see text]-2-aminocyclohexyl-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thiourea and ZnTPP complex revealed slight asymmetric distortion of the porphyrin plane caused by the chiral guest and additional [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] interactions between the host and guest molecules. The calculated CD spectrum for the same system reproduces the experimentally observed one.

Different computational methods and influence of the guest conformation and solvent effect to analyze chirogenesis in zinc porphyrins by several chiral compounds have been investigated.