Determination of the absolute configuration of a chiral epoxide using foil induced Coulomb explosion imaging

We have applied the method of foil-induced Coulomb Explosion Imaging (FCEI) to determine the handedness of a homochiral sample of the compound trans-2,3-dideuterooxirane C2OH2D2. We determined the compound to be of the (R, R)-econfiguration with a statistical significance of 5σ. As the molecular sample was chemically linked to the stereochemical reference standard glyceraldehyde, our assignment constitutes an independent verification of the absolute handedness of all compounds linked to this reference substance.