An enantioenriched vanadium phosphonate generated via asymmetric chiral amplification of crystallization from achiral sources showing a single-crystal-to-single-crystal dehydration process

By using an asymmetrical 2-carboxyphenylphosphonate ligand (2-cpp(3-)), a chiral layered vanadium compound (VO)(3)(2-cpp)(2)(H2O)(6)center dot H2O (1) is isolated. The bulk sample is enantioenriched due to symmetry breaking on crystallization. Partial release of the coordination water molecules upon heating leads to a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation to compound [(VO)(3)(2-cpp)(2)(H2O)(4)] (1a) which is centrosymmetric.