C2-Symmetric chiral diamine ligands for enantiomeric recognition of amino acid esters and mandelic acid by proton nmr titration method

Two novel C2 -symmetric chiral diamines containing α-phenylethyl and α-(1-naphthyl)ethyl chiral subunits were prepared with quantitative yields. Enantiomeric recognition properties of these simple structured diamine ligands towards D- and L-amino acid esters and D- and L-mandelic acid were examined by the 1H NMR titration method. These ligands exhibited strong complexation (with Kf up to 2481 M-1) and good enantioselectivity (up to KL /KD = 4.08) towards the mandelic acid enantiomers. The results show that simple structured and easily accessible acyclic C2 -symmetrical compounds can also be used for enantiomeric recognition of racemic amino acids and mandelic acid in addition to complex molecules such as crown ethers and other cyclic molecules.