Chirality-dependent balance between hydrogen bonding and London dispersion in isolated (±)-1-indanol clusters.

The aggregation behavior of racemic and enantiopure 1-indanol has been studied by FTIR spectroscopy, resonant ion dip IR spectroscopy, and spontaneous Raman scattering in supersonic jets. This triple experimental approach, augmented by homology to related molecular fragments and dispersion-corrected DFT predictions, allows disentangling the complex spectroscopic signature in the OH stretch range. Evidence for chirality-sensitive aggregation via isolated OH···π bonds in competition with cooperative ···OH···OH···π patterns is collected. An accurate description of London dispersion forces provides the key to its explanation.