Enantioselective Recognition for Many Different Kinds of Chiral Guests by One Chiral Receptor Based on Tetraphenylethylene Cyclohexylbisurea

A neutral chiral receptor based on TPE cyclohexylbisurea was synthesized and could discriminate the enantiomers of many different kinds of chiral reagents, including chiral acidic compounds, basic compounds, amino acids, and even neutral alcohols. The 1H NMR spectra disclosed that the ability of chiral recognition could be ascribed to the multiple hydrogen bonds and CH−π interactions between the TPE urea receptor and the enantiomer of the chiral guest, which led to the selective aggregation of the receptor with one of the two enantiomers. This result exhibited a great potential in enantiomer discernment and high-throughput analysis of enantiomer composition of these chiral analytes by one chiral AIE molecule.