Propeller molecule acts as chirality sensor for solvents

By Annika Friberg2018-11-07T14:29:00

A C3-symmetric propeller-shaped molecule, synthesized by the 9-borafluorene-mediated three-fold benzannulation of 1,3,5-tris(phenylethynyl)benzene, undergoes helical inversion between P- and M-conformers, whose ratio is biased under the influence of solve

Source: © Yoshiaki Shoji & Takanori Fukushima

Unusual chiral induction phenomenon observed in a molecular system

Researchers from Japan have synthesised a propeller-shaped molecule that can sense the chirality of solvents. The sterically congested molecule shifts between its left- and right-handed conformers according to the chirality of the solvent it is in.