NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) techniques were chosen to examine interactions in a poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME)/tert-butyl alcohol (t-BuOH)/water ternary system. The effects of PVME and t-BuOH concentrations on phase separation temperature were examined. Molecules of t-BuOH additive hydrophobically associate with PVME and decrease the phase separation temperature. Thermodynamic parameters connected with phase separation were calculated from NMR results using an approach based on the van’t Hoff equation. Presence of t-BuOH increases the number of PVME monomeric units in one cooperative domain (where the units undergo phase separation as whole—‘all-or-none’). NMR time-resolved relaxation measurements show very different dynamics of the solvent releasing process for low and high PVME concentrations above phase separation temperature. ITC data show that the presence of t-BuOH restricts water solvation of PVME globules. Presented results on the PVME/t-BuOH/D2O system show that the PVME solution properties are not constant in time. The analysis of measurements (and resulting properties) should always be done while considering strong time-dependent behaviour of PVME solutions.

Enantiomeric excess (ee) is a measure of the purity of an enantiomer of a chiral compound with respect to the presence of the complementary enantiomer. It is an important aspect of chemistry, especially in the fields of pharmaceuticals and asymmetric catalysis. Existing methods for determination of enantiomeric excesses using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy mostly rely on special chiral reagents (auxiliaries) that form two or more diastereomeric complexes with a chiral compound. As a result of this, the NMR spectrum of each enantiomer is different, allowing the determination of enantiomeric excess.In this Account, we describe a molecular design process that has allowed us to prepare prochiral solvating agents for NMR determination of ee of a wide variety of analyte types. At the outset of this work, we initially encountered the phenomenon of NMR peak splitting in the oxoporphyrinogen (OxP) host component of a supramolecular host–guest complex, where the extent of the splitting is apparently proportional to the guests’ ee. Upon closer examination of the mechanism of action, it was found that several complicating factors, including prototropic tautomerism, macrocyclic inversion (ring-flipping), and 1:2 host–guest stoichiometry, obstruct potential applications of OxP as a chiral solvating agent. By considering the molecular conformation of the OxP host, a saddle-shaped calix[4]pyrrole, we moved to study the tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) dication since it has a similar form, and it was found that it could also be used to probe ee. However, although TPP does not suffer from disadvantageous tautomeric processes, it is still subject to macrocyclic inversion and has the additional serious disadvantage of operating for ee sensing only at depressed temperatures. The intrinsic disadvantages of the OxP and TPP systems were finally overcome by covalently modifying the OxP chromophore by regioselective N-alkylation at one face of the molecule. This procedure yields a host Bz2OxP that undergoes 1:1 host–guest interactions, cannot be protonated (and so does not suffer drawbacks due to tautomeric processes), and can interact solely through hydrogen bonding with a much wider range of analyte types, including acids, esters, amines (including amino acid derivatives), and ketones, for the determination of their ee at room temperature.Chiral sensing, in this case, can be understood by considering the breakdown of the host’s symmetry when it interacts with a chiral guest under fast exchange. Furthermore, chirality discrimination (i.e., which is the major enantiomer in a sample) can be performed by addition of a small amount of one of the known enantiomers. Adaptation of a symmetrical molecule for ee sensing presents certain intrinsic advantages, including identical binding constants of each enantiomer. Our results indicate that other symmetrical molecules might also be useful as NMR probes of enantiopurity. These systems could provide insights into important chirality principles such as majority rule, intermolecular chirality transfer, and asymmetric reactions. The Bz2OxP system is also of note from the point of view that it does not rely on the formation of diastereomers.

We report chiral guest binding as a probe of prototropic tautomerism and macrocyclic inversion in a highly conjugated tetrapyrrole studied using 1H NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with mandelic acid as the chiral guest. Both tautomerism and macrocycle inversion can be influenced in a non-trivial way depending on temperature and the respective concentrations of tetrapyrrole host, chiral guest or water. Chirality of the interacting guest is the key feature since it permits separation and detailed observation of macrocyclic inversion and tautomerism. Based on this, a methodology was developed to identify and characterize the dynamic processes. Our observations suggest that yields of products (e.g., of asymmetric reactions) can be affected by reactivity of functional groups (in molecules undergoing tautomerism or inversion) by varying solution properties including reagent concentrations and impurities such as water. This work establishes a connection between the important chemical concepts of chirality, tautomerism, and macrocyclic dynamics.