Crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization of racemic Mosher's Acid

Abstract

The title compound, C10H9F3O3, represents the structure of racemic Mosher's Acid (systematic name: 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-methoxy-2-phenylpropanoic acid), a carboxylic acid that when resolved can be employed as a chiral derivatizing agent. The compound contains a carboxylic acid group, a methoxy group and a trifluoromethyl substituent on an asymmetric benzylic carbon atom. The two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit form a non-centrosymmetric homochiral dimer via intermolecularly hydrogen-bonded head-to-tail dimers with graph-set notation R 2 2(8) and donor–acceptor hydrogen-bonding distances of 2.6616 (13) and 2.6801 (13) Å.