Sniffing out camphor: the fine balance between hydrogen bonding and London dispersion in the chirality recognition with α-fenchol

Binary complexes between the chiral monoterpenoids camphor and alpha-fenchol were explored with vibrational and rotational jet spectroscopy as well as density functional theory in order to explore how chirality can influence the binding preferences in gas-phase complexes. The global minimum structures of the two diastereomers were assigned. It is found that chirality recognition leads to different compromises in the fine balance between intermolecular interactions. While one isomer features a stronger hydrogen bond, the other one is more tightly arranged and stabilized by larger London dispersion interactions. These new spectroscopic results help understand the influence of chirality in molecular aggregation and unveil the kind of interactions involved between a chiral alcohol and a chiral ketone with large dispersion contributions.

Automated summary

Binary complexes between camphor and alpha-fenchol were studied using vibrational and rotational jet spectroscopy as well as density functional theory. The research aimed to explore how chirality affects binding preferences in gas-phase complexes. The results showed that chirality recognition leads to different compromises in the balance between intermolecular interactions. This study helps understand the influence of chirality in molecular aggregation and reveals the types of interactions involved between a chiral alcohol and a chiral ketone with large dispersion contributions.