Abstract
This account describes the CD exciton chirality method which is useful for determination of absolute stereochemistry of various natural and synthetic chiral compounds. Chiral exciton coupling between two or more chromophores gives rise to two split CD Cotton effects of opposite signs to each other, from the signs of which absolute configuration of chiral compounds is nonempirically determined, if the direction of transition moments in interacting chromophores is known. The absolute stereochemistries determined by the present method are naturally in accrod with those from the X-ray crystallographic Bijvoet studies. Applications of this versatile chiroptical method to various organic compounds are exemplified ; in Part I, CD Cotton effects due to the exciton interaction between two or more identical chromophores are discussed.
