Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Preparation of Enantiopure Non-Activated Aziridines and Synthesis of Biemamide B, D, and epiallo-Isomuscarine
Published on: June 13, 2022
Achiral Solvent Inversed Helical Pathway and Cosolvent Controlled Excited-State "Majority Rule" in Enantiomeric
Xin Wen1,2, Fulin Wang1, Sifan Du1
1Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), ZhongGuanCun North First Street 2, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Achiral solvents are commonly utilized to induce the self-assembly of chiral molecules. This study demonstrates that achiral solvents can trigger helicity inversion in the assemblies of dansyl amphiphiles and control the excited-state "majority rule" in assemblies composed of pure enantiomers, through variation of the cosolvent ratio. Specifically, enantiomers of dansyl amphiphiles self-assemble into helical structures with opposite handedness in methanol (MeOH) and acetonitrile (MeCN), together with inversed circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signals. When a mixture of MeOH and MeCN is employed, the achiral cosolvents collectively affect the CPL of the assemblies in a way similar to that of "mixed enantiomers". The dominant cosolvent governs the CPL signal. As the cosolvent composition shifts from pure MeCN to MeOH, the CPL signals undergo a significant inversion and amplification, with two maxima observed at ≈20% MeOH and 20% MeCN. This study deepens the comprehension of how achiral solvents modulate helical nanostructures and their excited-state chiroptical properties.
More Related Videos
06:31Highly Stereoselective Synthesis of 1,6-Ketoesters Mediated by Ionic Liquids: A Three-component Reaction Enabling Rapid Access to a New Class of Low Molecular Weight Gelators
Published on: November 27, 2015
09:34Synthesis of Information-bearing Peptoids and their Sequence-directed Dynamic Covalent Self-assembly
Published on: February 6, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
SN2 Reaction: Stereochemistry
If the substrate is an achiral molecule at the α-carbon, the inversion of configuration is not...
Prochirality
SN1 Reaction: Stereochemistry
In the first step of an SN1 reaction, the bond between the electrophilic carbon and the leaving group ionizes to generate the carbocation intermediate. The second step of the mechanism is the nucleophilic attack.
In the formed carbocation, the positively charged carbon is sp2 hybridized with a trigonal planar geometry. As all the three substituents lie on the same plane, a plane of symmetry for the...
Naming Enantiomers
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of 1,5-Dienes: Cope Rearrangement