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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)
Published on: January 17, 2020
Strong enantioselective self-recognition of a small chiral molecule
Seth E Snyder1, Phillip I Volkers, David A Engebretson
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
In the present report, we have crystallized a single enantiomer and the racemate of N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl (DNB) leucine. In both cases, the X-ray structures show clear evidence of homochiral dimerization in the solid state. Moreover, only homochiral dimers were observed in the unit cell of the racemate, a result of solid-state enantioselective complexation. The crystal structures support a chiral recognition mechanism involving two hydrogen bonds and an offset pi-pi interaction between the DNB rings.
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