Detail:
Abstract: Our research program focuses on applying and developing new spectroscopic tools to determine chirality and to establish chirality recognition models at the molecular level. Our recent rotational spectroscopic studies of clusters of 2-fluoroethanol and trifluoroethanol, two common organic solvents, highlight the importance of bifurcated H-bonds and F···F attractive interactions and their decisive roles in conformational preference. We also apply vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity to probe how chiral molecules interact with each other and with solvent molecules directly in solution. Recent examples on H-bonding, dihydrogen-bonding, and halogen-bonding will be discussed. Finally, a new instrument development on coupling mass spectrometry with IR laser spectroscopy will also be described.
