Pasteur’s investigation on the crystallization of racemic sodium ammonium tartrate in aqueous solution set the basis of an extraordinarily wide research area with a scientific but at the same time a philosophical character due to the unanswered questions regarding the origin of homochirality in living organisms. Although these questions may never find their answers, the science of chemistry has shed light to a plethora of questions regarding chirality and how does it operate through the interactions of the different enantiomeric forms of a chiral molecule with a molecular or a supramolecular entity. The common element of our contribution in the area of chirality and Pasteur’s studies is the key molecule L-tartaric acid. We have employed a simple derivative of the this chiral natural product namely, (–)-dimethyl-2,3-O-isopropylidene-L-tartrate, in a journey where chirality was amplified during the construction process of larger molecular tectons such as cyclo-[n]-malonates and finally, enantiomerically pure bis- and trisadducts of C60 with an inherently chiral addition pattern and chiral hexakis adducts of [60]fullerene. The installation of functional 1,2-diol moieties on these chiral architectures has allowed their utilization in the most modern areas of Supramolecular Chemistry namely, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), molecular polyhedra and giant shape amphiphiles.
Speaker: Nikos Chronakis
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
e-mail: nchronak@ucy.ac.cy
Time: Thusrsday, 26 May 2016, 11:00