Chiral Imprinting in the Gas Phase

Abstract

Undoing the twist: Recent successful attempts to change the relative populations of two otherwise identical enantiomers of a large gas-phase molecule using resonant microwave fields are highlighted. Specifically, the population of a specific enantiomer of a chiral terpene could be enhanced relative to the other enantiomer by the application of a sequence of microwave pulses in a phase- and polarization-controlled manner.

Keywords: chiral recognition; enantiomer enrichment; gas phase chemistry; rotational spectroscopy; terpenes.