Organic Reactions in Crystals

Abstract

By utilizing the phenomenon that molecules move from crystal to crystal quite easily under appropriate conditions, a new type of organic chemistry has beencontrived. The combination of the enantioselective molecular movement from racemic guest crystal to chiral host crystal with fractional distillation, leads to a process whereby enantiomeric guest molecules can be separated by distillation. Selective and efficient organic reactions can be carried out by grinding crystals of substrate and reagent.