One‐Dimensionally Disordered Chiral Sorting by Racemic Tiling in a Surface‐Confined Supramolecular Assembly of Achiral Tectons

The aggregation of (pro)chiral/achiral molecules into crystalline structures at interfaces forms conglomerates, racemates, and solid solutions, comparable to known bulk phases. Scanning tunneling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations were employed to uncover a distinct racemic phase, expressing 1D disordered chiral sorting through random tiling in surface‐confined supramolecularly assembled achiral 4,4′′‐diethynyl‐1,1′:4′,1′′‐terphenyl molecules. The configurational entropy of the 1D disordered racemic tiling phase was verified by analytical modeling, and found to lie between that of a perfectly ordered 2D racemate and a racemic solid solution.     

Chiral pair monolayer adsorption of iodine-substituted octadecanol molecules on graphite

High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy has been used to examine the adsorbate structures formed when a racemic mixture of (9R,10R)-9,10-diiodooctadecan-1-ol and (9S,10S)-9,10-diiodooctadecan-1-ol is adsorbed at the basal plane of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite. The herringbone structure characteristic of the adsorption of long-chain molecules on graphite is observed. Close examination of the micrographs indicates a unique structure in which the chiral molecules adsorb in pairs, with one enantiomer filling half of the unit cell, and the other enantiomer filling the other half. Instead of forming separate chiral domains, as is sometimes observed when a racemic mixture adsorbs on an achiral surface, chiral pairs are formed and the pairs form an ordered monolayer, exposing opposite faces of the same molecule. An achiral racemic mixture is observed to form a chiral structure on an achiral surface in the regions of the surface examined here.     

Induction of chirality in an achiral monolayer at the liquid/solid interface by a supramolecular chiral auxiliary

An achiral oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) derivative with a ureido-triazine hydrogen bonding unit self-assembles into rows of hydrogen bonded dimers at the liquid/solid interface. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals the formation of chiral domains, but overall, the surface remains racemic. Addition of a chiral auxiliary which is able to interact with the dimers through hydrogen bonding, showed that global organizational chirality could be achieved since a majority of the domains show the same handedness. After removing the chiral auxiliary with a volatile solvent, the global organizational chirality could be trapped, revealing a memory effect. With this straightforward supramolecular approach, we were able to create a chiral surface with preferred handedness composed of achiral molecules at the air/solid interface.     

Scalemic and racemic imprinting with a chiral crosslinker

The development of molecularly imprinted chiral stationary phases has traditionally been limited by the need for a chiral pure template. Paradoxically, availability of a chiral pure template largely defeats the purpose of developing a chiral stationary phase. To solve this paradox, imprinting of scalemic and racemic template mixtures was investigated using both chiral (N-α-bismethacryloyl-l-alanine) and achiral (N,O-bisacrylamide ethanolamine) crosslinkers. Imprinting of scalemic mixtures provided polymers capable of partial separation of Boc-tyrosine enantiomers with virtually the same results when using either the chiral or achiral crosslinker. However, the chiral crosslinker was required for chiral differentiation by the racemic imprinted polymers which were evaluated in both batch rebinding and chromatographic modes. Batch rebinding analysis revealed intersecting binding isotherms for the L- and D-Boc-tyrosine, indicating bias for the D or L enantiomer is concentration dependent. Partial chromatographic separation was achieved by the racemic imprinted polymers providing variable D or L bias in equal probability over multiple replicates of polymer synthesis. Correlation of enantiomer bias with the batch rebinding results and optimization of HPLC parameters are discussed.     

2D Ising Model for Adsorption-induced Enantiopurification of Racemates

Mechanisms for the spontaneous transformation of achiral chemical systems into states of enantiomeric purity have important ramifications in modern pharmacology and potential relevance to the origins of homochirality in life on Earth. Such mechanisms for enantiopurification are needed for production of chiral pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds. Previously proposed chemical mechanisms leading from achiral systems to near homochirality are initiated by a symmetry-breaking step resulting in a minor excess of one enantiomer via statistical fluctuations in enantiomer concentrations. Subsequent irreversible processes then amplify the majority enantiomer concentration while simultaneously suppressing minority enantiomer production. Herein, equilibrium adsorption of amino acid enantiomer mixtures onto chiral and achiral surfaces reveals amplification of surface enantiomeric excess relative to the gas phase; i. e. enantiopurification of chiral adsorbates by adsorption. This adsorption-induced amplification of enantiomeric excess is shown to be well-describe by the 2D Ising model. More importantly, the 2D-Ising model predicts formation of homochiral monolayers from adsorption of racemic mixtures or prochiral molecules on achiral surfaces; i. e. enantiopurification with no apparent chiral driving force.     

Expression of molecular chirality and two-dimensional supramolecular self-assembly of chiral, racemic, and achiral monodendrons at the liquid-solid interface

We have investigated the two-dimensional ordering of chiral and achiral monodendrons at the liquid-solid interface. The chiral molecules self-assemble into extended arrays of dimers. As expected, the R enantiomer forms the mirror image type pattern of the chiral two-dimensional structure formed by the S enantiomer. A racemic mixture applied from solution onto the substrate undergoes spontaneous segregation: the enantiomers separate on the surface and appear in different domains. In contrast to the chiral molecules, the achiral analogue self-assembles into cyclic tetramers. Moreover, the pattern formed by the achiral molecule strongly depends on the solvent used. In the case of 1-phenyloctane, solvent molecules are coadsorbed in a 2:1 (dendron:solvent) ratio whereas in 1-octanol, no solvent molecules are coadsorbed. By the appropriate solvent choice, the distance between the potential "supramolecular containers" can be influenced.     

Supercritical fluid extraction: a novel method for the resolution of tetramisole

A new resolution method, based on the selective distribution of enantiomers between a chiral solid and an achiral supercritical fluid phase, is reported. The chiral solid phase is formed from the optically active dicarboxylic acid derivative, (2R,3R)-O,O′-dibenzoyltartaric acid, and the racemic base (tetramisole). A new method is also described for the enrichment of enantiomeric mixtures which have an enantiomeric ratio other than 1:1. This is based on the partial salt formation of the enantiomeric mixture with an achiral substance, which is then followed by supercritical fluid extraction of the free enantiomer. The extract has an enantiomeric composition which is different from the starting mixture. The method is applied to an enantiomeric mixture of tetramisole with hydrochloric acid.     

Search of nature of planar chirality for pendent benzodiazacoronands in the solid state: NMR, X-ray, and DFT studies

In this work, we report the structural studies on the solid state of two benzodiazacoronads that form chiral and achiral crystals. Crystals have to be considered as a two-component system consisting of an organic unit and a water molecule in 1:1 ratio. Both components play an important role in the crystal structure. The strong (O-H...O, N-H...O) and weak (C-H...O) intermolecular hydrogen bonds are responsible for phase organization and, in consequence, formation of chiral or achiral crystals. The alignment of the water molecule with respect to the macrocycle is different for samples 1 and 2. Removal of water from the crystal lattice of 1 is reversible. Formation of chiral cocrystals from two different achiral molecules by self-assembly is well-known. However, in this paper, we show that the water molecule can be an important achiral cofactor responsible for chiral crystallization.     

Nucleoside-assisted self-assembly of oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)s at liquid/solid interface: chirality and nanostructures

The formation of DNA nucleoside-assisted π-conjugated nanostructures was studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and force field simulations. Upon adsorption of the achiral oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV) derivative at the liquid/solid interface, racemic conglomerates with mirror related rosettes are formed. Addition of the DNA nucleosides D- and L-thymidine, which act as "chiral handles", has a major effect on the supramolecular structure and the expression of chirality of the achiral OPV molecules. The influence of these "chiral handles" on the expression of chirality is probed at two levels: monolayer symmetry and monolayer orientation with respect to the substrate. This was further explored by tuning the molar ratio of the building blocks. Molecular modeling simulations give an atomistic insight into the monolayer construction, as well as the energetics governing the assembly. Thymidine is able to direct the chirality and the pattern of OPV molecules on the surface, creating chiral lamellae of π-conjugated dimers.     

Homochirality as a Consequence of Thermodynamic Equilibrium?

Recent results on the crystallisation/dissolution equilibrium of enantiomorphic crystals of NaClO3 lead to the conclusion that liquid-phase systems composed of achiral or fast racemising compounds yielding enantiomorphic solid phases (racemic conglomerates) can derive spontaneously to a single homochiral solid phase. This is a thermodynamically driven total resolution, which can only occur when the system is so perturbed that chiral recognition between the species of the system becomes feasible.     

Quasi chiral phase separation in a two-dimensional orientationally disordered system: 6-nitrospiropyran on Au(111)

The adsorption and chiral expression of 6-nitrospiropyran (SP6) molecules on a Au(111) surface are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in combination with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both the chirality and the adsorption orientation of each adsorbed SP6 molecule are determined. The racemic mixture of SP6 enantiomers forms two-dimensional (2D) domains with same close packed positional orders but different internal orientational structures due to the random distribution of two adsorption orientations in each domain. However, all these orientationally disordered 2D domains undergo spontaneous quasi chiral phase separation; the 2D SP6 domains separate into 1D homochiral chains in which the SP6 molecules adopt two orientations randomly. This novel phenomenon is attributed to the preferential formation of the energetic favorable configurations with both the C-H...O weak hydrogen bonds and the pi-stacking of the two moieties of each SP6 molecule.     

Anomalous NMR behavior of meso compounds with remote stereogenic centers on addition of chiral shift reagent or chiral solvating agent

A problem has arisen in using chiral shift reagents (CSR) and chiral solvating agents (CSA) to determine meso and racemic forms of diastereoisomers in which the stereogenic centers of the molecules are separated by achiral spacers. It is found that NMR signals of both meso and racemic forms of diastereoisomers may exhibit doubling on addition of CSR/CSA, which means that unequivocal assignments cannot be made without characterizing the effects for separate meso and racemic forms; this is particularly important for additions of CSR/CSA at relatively low concentrations, which always result in the splitting of some NMR signals of diastereoisomers. The phenomenon is demonstrated in the (31)P NMR spectra of meso and racemic forms of three spermine-bridged gem-disubstituted cyclotriphosphazatrienes, 1a-c, and compared with analogous achiral molecules, the per-substituted spermine-bridged cyclotriphosphazatrienes 2a-d. As expected, only one set of (31)P NMR signals was observed for the achiral compounds 2a-d, even on addition of CSA. Two sets of (31)P NMR ABX multiplets corresponding to meso and racemic diastereoisomers were observed for compounds 1a-c; on addition of CSA, the signals of at least one of the multiplets for each compound separated into more than the expected groups of three lines with an intensity distribution of 2:1:1. To understand this phenomenon, the meso and racemic forms of 1a and 1b and the meso form of 1c have been separated and characterized by X-ray crystallography. On addition of CSA to the racemic forms of 1a and 1b, the (31)P NMR spectrum shows the expected doubling of signals, but, unexpectedly, the same is observed for each of the meso forms of 1a-c. Analogous results using both CSA and CSR have been obtained for the meso and racemic forms of the diastereoisomeric piperazine-bridged macrocyclic-phosphazene compound, 3, whereas no effect was observed for the two meso forms of the doubly bridged macrocyclic-phosphazene compound 4. The phenomenon of doubling of the (31)P NMR signals of the meso form of singly bridged cyclotriphosphazatrienes, 1a-c and 3, is explained by consideration of the equilibrium in solution of independent complexation of a chiral ligand with molecules that have two chiral cyclophosphazene moieties separated by an achiral spacer group. The results show that the stereogenicity of such diastereoisomeric molecules in solution cannot be characterized unequivocally by NMR measurements on addition of either CSR or CSA.     

Two-component supramolecular helical architectures: creation of tunable dissymmetric cavities for the inclusion and chiral recognition of the third components

The inclusion and chiral recognition of racemic arylalkanols by supramolecular helical architectures consisting of enantiopure primary amines and achiral carboxylic acids were thoroughly studied. Among the architectures examined, a supramolecular helical architecture composed of the salt of enantiopure erythro-2-amino-1,2-diphenylethanol (1 b) and benzoic acid (2 a) was found to include a wide variety of racemic arylalkanols with recognition of their chirality. The helical architecture gave a dissymmetric 1D groove in the salt crystal, and the arylalkanols were enantioselectively included in the groove. The size and shape of the groove were tunable by proper selection of the achiral carboxylic acid component. The origin of the chiral recognition with the combination 1 b/2 a is discussed on the basis of X-ray crystallographic analyses.     

双官能度手性和消旋苯并噁嗪的合成及热性能研究

采用无溶剂法合成了新型双酚A和双酚AF(六氟双酚A)基手性和消旋苯并噁嗪单体,利用红外光谱(FTIR)、核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)、旋光仪和高效液相色谱(HPLC)对单体结构和性质进行了表征,通过差式扫描量热仪(DSC)和热重分析仪(TGA)对苯并噁嗪的固化行为及聚合物的热性能进行了研究.结果表明,无溶剂法合成苯并噁嗪单体具有反应速度快、产率高、对环境友好等特点;双官能度消旋苯并噁嗪单体由内消旋和外消旋异构体组成,且内消旋苯并噁嗪单体含量高于外消旋;手性和消旋苯并噁嗪单体具有相同的开环聚合行为;由于消旋苯并噁嗪分子的立体构型不同,使得聚苯并噁嗪的自由体积减小,分子链的堆积更加致密,因而消旋聚苯并噁嗪的玻璃化转变温度(Tg)和热稳定性均高于手性聚苯并噁嗪和传统的双酚A-苯胺型聚苯并噁嗪;此外,C—F键具有高的解离能,因而双酚AF基聚苯并噁嗪的热性能显著提高.     

Mesoporous silicas by self-assembly of lipid molecules: ribbon, hollow sphere, and chiral materials

Using lipids (N-acyl amino acids) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as structure- and co-structure-directing agents, mesoporous silicas with four different morphologies, that is, helical ribbon (HR), hollow sphere, circular disk, and helical hexagonal rod, were synthesized just by changing the synthesis temperature from 0 degrees C to 10, 15, or 20 degrees C. The structures were studied by electron microscopy. It was found that 1) the structures have double-layer disordered mesopores in the HR, radially oriented mesopores in the hollow sphere, and highly ordered straight and chiral 2D-hexagonal mesopores in the disklike structure and helical rod, respectively; 2) these four types of mesoporous silica were transformed from the flat bilayered lipid ribbon with a chain-interdigitated layer phase through a solid-solid transformation for HR formation and a dissolving procedure transformation for the synthesis of the hollow sphere, circular disk, and twisted morphologies; 3) the mesoporous silica helical ribbon was exclusively right-handed and the 2D-hexagonal chiral mesoporous silica was excessively left-handed when the L-form N-acyl amino acid was used as the lipid template; 4) the HR was formed only by the chiral lipid molecules, whereas the 2D-hexagonal chiral mesoporous silicas were formed by chiral, achiral, and racemic lipids. Our findings give important information for the understanding of the formation of chiral materials at the molecular level and will facilitate a more efficient and systematic approach to the generation of rationalized chiral libraries.     

Emergence of solution-phase homochirality via crystal engineering of amino acids

The evolution of homochirality from a prebiotic environment has long intrigued scientists. Here we report how highly enantioenriched solutions may be produced by manipulation of amino acid phase behavior, a concept that has far-reaching implications for prebiotic chemistry. We demonstrate that the eutectic composition of aqueous mixtures of L and D amino acids may be tuned by the addition of achiral dicarboxylic acids that cocrystallize with chiral amino acids. We find that, in several cases, these systems yield new eutectic compositions of 98% ee or higher. This work suggests a forerunner of modern crystal engineering that provides a general and facile mechanism for the evolution of homochirality as well as a conceptual advance for the separation of enantiomers of molecules forming racemic compounds.     

Catalytic Enantioselective Olefin Metathesis in Natural Product Synthesis. Chiral Metal‐Based Complexes that Deliver High Enantioselectivity and More

Chiral olefin metathesis catalysts enable chemists to access enantiomerically enriched small molecules with high efficiency; synthesis schemes involving such complexes can be substantially more concise than those that would involve enantiomerically pure substrates and achiral Mo alkylidenes or Ru‐based carbenes. The scope of research towards design and development of chiral catalysts is not limited to discovery of complexes that are merely the chiral versions of the related achiral variants. A chiral olefin metathesis catalyst, in addition to furnishing products of high enantiomeric purity, can offer levels of efficiency, product selectivity and/or olefin stereoselectivity that are unavailable through the achiral variants. Such positive attributes of chiral catalysts (whether utilized in racemic or enantiomerically enriched form) should be considered as general, applicable to other classes of transformations.     

Direct chiral resolution of underivatized amino acids on a stationary phase dynamically modified with the ion‐exchanger Nτ‐decyl‐l‐spinacine

Increasing attention has been devoted in the last decades to chiral chromatography, principally to high‐performance liquid chromatography techniques using a chiral stationary phase. Many chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography columns are commercially available, but, unfortunately, they are most often rather expensive. A cheap alternative to the commercial chiral columns is the dynamic‐coating procedure of a standard achiral stationary phase with a chiral selector containing both a chiral domain and a chain or a group able to tightly (but noncovalently) bind the achiral support. This is the case of N^τ‐decyl‐l ‐spinacine, already successfully employed to dynamically cover a reversed‐phase column to separate racemic mixtures of amino acids through the ligand‐exchange mechanism. In the present work, the same chiral selector is employed to separate racemic mixtures of amino acids and oligopeptides, in the absence of metal ions: no coordination complex is formed, but only electrostatic and weak nonbonding interactions between the chiral phase and the analytes are responsible for the observed enantioselectivity. The new method is simpler than the previous one, very effective in the case of aromatic amino acids and oligopeptides and also suitable for preparative purposes.     

Two-component chiral phase transfer catalysts: enantioselective esterification of an N-acylated amino acid

[see reaction]. The first example of a two-component chiral phase transfer catalyst is described which, operating in a biphasic solvent system, preferentially esterifies one enantiomer of a racemic N-acylated amino acid. The two-component catalyst is comprised of an achiral quaternary ammonium ion and a proline-derived chiral selector initially developed for the liquid chromatographic separation of enantiomers.