Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026
08:51
Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
Published on: August 18, 2017
Microwave-absorbing chiral composites: Is chirality essential or accidental?
Applied Optics
|August 25, 2010
Summary
Microwave frequency absorption in suspensions of wire helices and connected loop arrays was investigated. Chirality was found to be non-essential for absorption in these metamaterial coatings.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Electromagnetism
Background:
- Suspensions of wire helices exhibit microwave absorption.
- Chirality is often associated with such chiral structures.
- The necessity of chirality for absorption is questioned.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the essential properties for microwave absorption in helical suspensions.
- To investigate alternative non-chiral structures for similar absorption properties.
- To understand the role of chirality in metamaterial coatings.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of microwave absorption in suspensions.
- Fabrication and testing of wire helix suspensions.
- Fabrication and testing of connected loop array suspensions.
Main Results:
- Suspensions of wire helices demonstrate significant absorption at microwave frequencies.
- Non-chiral suspensions of connected loop arrays exhibit similar absorption characteristics.
- The observed absorption is independent of the chirality of the structures.
Conclusions:
- Chirality is not essential for microwave absorption in these types of suspensions.
- Connected loop arrays offer a non-chiral alternative for microwave absorption coatings.
- The findings advance the design principles for metamaterial absorbers.
Related Concept Videos
02:25Chirality
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
02:30Chirality in Nature
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid. The...
02:25Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...
02:05Prochirality
The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...
01:33Radical Halogenation: Stereochemistry
Stereochemistry is the study of the different spatial arrangements of atoms in a given molecule. The stereochemistry of radical halogenations can be understood from three different situations:
Halogenation to form a new chiral center:
Halogenation to form a new chiral center:
02:30Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...