What are Enantiomers?
Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, much like a person’s right and left hands. They are often compared to hands because, without mirroring, one cannot be superimposed onto the other.
Relationship between Enantiomers
Enantiomers have distinct effects and interactions with other chiral molecules. They are distinguished by their ability to rotate plane-polarized light to equal but opposite angles, a property known as optical activity. When two enantiomers are present in equal proportions, they form a racemic mixture, which does not rotate polarized light because the optical activity of each enantiomer cancels out the other.
Enantiomers are chemically identical in every other respect, but they can have different effects on biological systems, making them significant in pharmaceuticals and other fields. The prefix “enantio-” designates the mirror-image relationship between enantiomers.
Optical Isomerism
Optical Isomerism is a property of Organic Compounds in which they have the same molecular and structural formula but they can’t superimpose on each other. This is due to the different arrangement of carbon atoms in three-dimensional space. The structures exhibiting Optical isomerism are called Optical Isomers. Optical Isomerism is one of the most important concepts in Organic Chemistry and helps to understand various difficult reactions.
In this article, we will learn what is optical isomerism, its significance, types, examples and many more things.
Table of Content
- What is Optical Isomerism?
- Optical Isomer Definition
- Chiral and Achiral Molecules
- What are Enantiomers?
- Type of Optical Isomers
- Structural Isomers vs Optical Isomers
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