Alkyl groups modulate π-stacking interactions, size isn't everything

The team led by Ken Shimizu at the University of South Carolina recently published a super interesting finding: the strength of attractive or repulsive forces in π-stacked aromatic molecules can be significantly influenced by their alkyl substituents.

What’s cool is that it’s not just about the size of those alkyl groups. If the interacting surface area between the aromatic rings is large enough, even molecules with bulky tert-butyl (tBu) groups can show stronger attraction than those with smaller methyl (Me) groups!

Here is the link to their publication: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201602752/full0