We have proven the
usability and versatility of chiral triphenylacetic
acid esters, compounds of high structural diversity, as chirality-sensing
stereodynamic probes and as molecular tectons in crystal engineering.
The low energy barrier to stereoisomer interconversion has been exploited
to sense the chirality of an alkyl substituent in the esters. The
structural information are cascaded from the permanently chiral alcohol
(inducer) to the stereodynamic chromophoric probe through cooperative
interactions. The ECD spectra of triphenylacetic acid esters are highly
sensitive to very small structural differences in the inducer core.
The tendencies to maximize the C–H···O hydrogen
bonds, van der Waals interactions, and London dispersion forces determine
the way of packing molecules in the crystal lattice. The phenyl embraces
of trityl groups allowed, to some extent, the control of molecular
organization in the crystal. However, the spectrum of possible molecular
arrangements is very broad and depends on the type of substituent,
the optical purity of the sample, and the presence of a second trityl
group in the proximity. Racemates crystallize as the solid solution
of enantiomers, where the trityl group acts as a protecting group
for the stereogenic center. Therefore, the absolute configuration
of the inducer is irrelevant to the packing mode of molecules in the
crystal.