Direct enantiomeric discrimination through antisymmetric hyperfine coupling

Abstract

Chiral open-shell molecules possessing permanent electric dipole moments have an EPR signal at the difference frequency of the electron and nuclear resonances, allowing direct enantiomeric discrimination by signal phase. The effect depends on the vector antisymmetry of the hyperfine coupling. Quantum chemistry suggests chiral bisfluorene methyl radical derivatives as promising for experiments.