Induction and detection of chirality in doped sol-gel materials: NMR and circular dichroism studies

Sharon Fireman-Shoresh, Sharon Marx, David Avnir*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have studied diastereomeric chiral interactions within sols, gels and xerogels of silicas and derivatized silicas (20% phenylated and 10% octadecylated silicas) doped with the chiral surfactant (-)-N-dodecyl-N- methylephedrinium bromide (DMB). Two spectral methods - new in the context of chiral sol-gel materials - have been used for that purpose. In the first method, we were able to detect the diastereomeric interactions between DMB and each of the pure enantiomers of co-doped 1,1′-binaphthyl-2,2′-diyl hydrogenphosphate using 31P-NMR spectroscopy. In the second method, we were able to obtain an induced circular dichroism (ICD) signal from the achiral dye Congo Red co-doped with DMB. NMR and ICD are complementary in understanding the way in which the chiral surfactant creates chiral environments inside the sol-gel materials. In particular, we provide ICD evidence that the silica network itself becomes chiral due to the entrapment of the chiral surfactant.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)536-544
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
Volume17
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Induction and detection of chirality in doped sol-gel materials: NMR and circular dichroism studies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this