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Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Enzymatic Cascade Reactions for the Synthesis of Chiral Amino Alcohols from L-lysine
Published on: February 16, 2018
The evolution towards cyclic structures in the aggregation of aromatic alcohols: the dimer, trimer and tetramer of
Ander Camiruaga1, Rizalina Tama Saragi2, Fernando Torres-Hernández1
1Dep. of Physical Chemistry, Fac. of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bo̲ Sarriena S/N, Leioa, 48940, Spain. josea.fernandez@ehu.es.
Abstract:
Gas-phase spectroscopic studies of alcohol clusters offer accurate information on the influence of non-covalent interactions on molecular recognition, and are of paramount importance to model supramolecular and biological chemical processes. Here, we examine the role of the aliphatic side chain in the self-aggregation of aromatic alcohols, using a multi-methodological gas-phase approach which combines microwave spectroscopy and mass-resolved electronic and vibrational laser spectroscopy. Spectroscopic and electronic structure computations were carried out for the dimer, trimer and tetramer of 2-phenylethanol, extending previous investigations on smaller aromatic alcohols. While the conformational flexibility of the ethyl group anticipates a variety of torsional isomers, the intra- and inter-molecular interactions restrict molecular conformations and favour particularly stable isomers. The conformational landscape of the clusters is very shallow and multiple competing isomers were rotationally and/or vibrationally detected, including three dimer species, two trimers and two tetramers. Cluster growth is associated with a tendency to form cyclic hydrogen bond structures.
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