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Lock‐and‐Key Principle on a Microscopic Scale: The Case of the Propylene Oxide⋅⋅⋅Ethanol Complex
Author(s) -
Borho Nicole,
Xu Yunjie
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.200603809
Subject(s) - conformational isomerism , lock (firearm) , propylene oxide , key (lock) , oxide , ethanol , ab initio , chemistry , hydrogen bond , computational chemistry , molecule , computer science , organic chemistry , engineering , mechanical engineering , computer security , ethylene oxide , copolymer , polymer
Molecular recognition : The binding between propylene oxide (PO) and ethanol resembles the lock‐and‐key principle, with ( R )‐PO as a rigid lock and G −, G +, and T conformers of EtOH as different keys (see picture; C yellow, O red). Six hydrogen‐bonded PO⋅⋅⋅EtOH conformers were studied using rotational spectroscopy and ab initio calculations, revealing which EtOH key fits best into the PO lock.