Molecularly imprinted cholesteric materials for enhanced enantiomeric separation

A cholesteric network exhibiting two levels of chirality, i.e. a macroscopic chirality issued from cholesteric structure and a local chirality generated by the presence of chiral imprinted sites, was synthesized. The specific role of each level of chirality in enantio-recognition phenomena was investigated in gaz phase by comparing their sorption properties towards two enantiomers of a chiral amine. Both levels of chirality improves the separation, the chiral environment having a lower effect than the presence of chiral-specific molecular cavities.