Trityl Ethers: Molecular Bevel Gears Reporting Chirality through Circular Dichroism Spectra

Abstract

More than a protecting group: The trityl group senses the chirality of an alkyl substituent in chiral trityl ethers. The CD spectra of trityl-protected alcohols are highly sensitive to the chirality of the alcohol. The use of a trityl CD sensor provides new insight into the structure and mode of action of chiral molecular bevel gears and shows the relation between the absolute configurations of molecules and their Cotton effect patterns.