BODIPY atropisomer interconversion, face discrimination, and superstructure appending

A strategy was developed to append sterically hindered apical pickets on both faces of the BODIPY platform to prevent stacking and aggregation. Ortho-substitution of both the meso-phenyl ring and the boron-bound catechol affords the right directionality to append pickets, achieve face discrimination, featuring two inter-convertible atropisomers, and is reminiscent of the picket-fence strategy in porphyrins.