Structural rearrangement in the formation of jet-cooled complexes of chiral (S)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinolinemethanol with methyl lactate: chirality effect in conformer selection.

The jet-cooled complexes between the two enantiomers of methyl lactate (ML) and (S)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinolinemethanol (THIQM) are studied by double resonance spectroscopy combined with ab initio calculations. Both diastereomer complexes exist in different isomers, involving either direct addition of THIQM on ML with no structural rearrangement of the subunits or formation of very stable structures involving multiple intermolecular hydrogen bonds and extensive deformation of the subunits. Competition between these two processes and its dependence upon chirality are discussed. It is shown that the most stable form of the chromophore (THIQMI with an OH···N hydrogen bond) prefers to directly stick to ML to form the addition complex whereas the second conformer (THIQMII with NH···O hydrogen bond) rearranges to form a strongly bound structure. The two structures are formed for the homochiral as well the heterochiral complex, however with different relative abundance. This shows an enantioselective binding preference of ML for one of the conformers of the chromophore.