Practical Use of Circular Dichroism and Vibrational Circular Dichroism for Structural Analysis

The use of theoretical calculations of circular dichroism (CD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopies for structural analysis has been becoming popular among organic chemists. In association with the conventional CD exciton chirality method and a recently-developed VCD exciton chirality method, proper use of CD and VCD spectroscopies should advance various studies related to chirality. This article briefly discusses the basics of structural analysis using theoretical calculations and the exciton chirality method of CD and VCD, with some tips and cautions for reliable spectral interpretation. The latter half of this article is dedicated to describing recent examples of the use of VCD for analyzing the configuration and conformation of small molecules, polymers, supramolecules, etc.