Employing a chiroptical sensor for the absolute stereochemical determination of -amino and -hydroxyphosphonates

The absolute stereochemistry of the alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxyphosphonates is determined using a chiroptical sensor. The induced helicity of the host-guest complex is correlated to the chirality of the guest molecule via a simple binding model. The relative size of the substituents dictates the predominant helical population, leading to an easy circular dichroic readout.