The homodimers of transiently chiral molecules offer physical insight into the process of molecular recognition, the preference for homo or heterochiral aggregation and the nature of the non-covalent interactions stabilizing the adducts. We report the observation of the benzyl mercaptan dimer in the isolation conditions of a supersonic jet expansion, using broadband (chirped-pulse) microwave spectroscopy. A single homochiral isomer was observed for the dimer, stabilized by a cooperative sequence of S-H···S and S-H···π hydrogen bonds. The structural data, stabilization energies and energy decomposition describe these non-covalent interactions as weak and dispersion-controlled. A comparison is also provided with the benzyl alcohol dimer.

中文翻译：

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苄基硫醇二聚体中的分子识别、瞬态手性和​​硫氢键

瞬时手性分子的同源二聚体提供了对分子识别过程的物理洞察、对同源或异手性聚集的偏好以及稳定加合物的非共价相互作用的性质。我们报告了使用宽带（啁啾脉冲）微波光谱在超音速喷射膨胀的隔离条件下观察到的苄硫醇二聚体。对于二聚体，观察到单一的同手性异构体，由 SH…S 和 SH…π 氢键的协同序列稳定。结构数据、稳定能和能量分解将这些非共价相互作用描述为弱的和色散控制的。还提供了与苯甲醇二聚体的比较。