Application of optically active chiral bis(imidazolium) salts as potential receptors of chiral dicarboxylate salts of biological relevance.

A family of chiral bis(imidazolium) salts derived from natural amino acids has been synthesized by a simple synthetic approach and the corresponding bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide salts have been shown to be room temperature chiral ionic liquids (RTCILs). The structures and self-assembling properties of the resulting salts have been studied by (1)HNMR, ATR-FTIR, DSC, SEM and theoretical calculations. Moreover, these receptors have been applied to the enantiomeric recognition of dicarboxylic amino acids. The supramolecular complexes formed have been studied by (1)HNMR titration experiments, ATR-FTIR and DSC.