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Updated: Jan 10, 2026
Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and mechanistic implications of
Steven P Kelley1, Appasaheb K Nirpal2, Shyam Sathyamoorthi2
1Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
Abstract:
Our laboratory recently explored a highly stereospecific rearrangement of epoxides into tetrahydrofurans. To unambiguously determine the stereochemical outcome of this rearrangement, single crystals of one of the products, (2R*,3R*)-2-(2-phenoxyethyl)tetrahydrofuran-3-yl acetate, C14H18O4, were grown and analyzed. Based on the crystal structure data, we were able to show that the contiguous stereocenters of this molecule are in a syn configuration, and we now suggest with confidence a plausible mechanism for the rearrangement reaction. The syn configuration of the ring may also account for the inability of most members of this class to crystallize, as it imparts a kink in the structure reminiscent of low-melting unsaturated fatty acids.
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