Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 10, 2026
08:51
Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
Published on: August 18, 2017
10.9K
Chirality-encoded molecular wavefunctions
T Georgiou1, J L Palma2, V Mujica3
1Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program (MBIDP), The Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, 611 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, California 90095-1570, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|November 24, 2025
Summary
Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) introduces intrinsic phases in chiral molecules, enabling enantiospecific responses. These SOC-induced phases, captured by plane wave calculations, can be measured in experiments for chiral materials.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Chemistry
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Enantiomers possess non-superimposable mirror-image structures.
- Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a relativistic effect influencing electronic properties.
- Charge densities of enantiomers are spatially reflected, but occupied spinors may differ due to SOC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in generating enantiospecific responses.
- To establish a general mechanism for enantiospecific contributions in response tensors.
- To link SOC-driven spinor phases to measurable tensor differences.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical derivation of enantiospecific contributions from SOC-induced phases.
- Relativistic plane wave density-functional calculations on chiral molecules.
- Analysis of gauge-invariant response combinations and tensor properties.
Main Results:
- SOC encodes intrinsic phase textures that lead to enantiospecific contributions in response tensors.
- Isotropic pseudoscalar signatures arise from polar-axial couplings, while same-parity couplings remain mirror-even.
- Analytical bounds were derived and validated, linking SOC phases and amplitude distortions to measurable tensor differences.
Conclusions:
- SOC provides a general mechanism for enantiospecific responses in chiral materials.
- Plane wave calculations effectively capture delocalized SOC phase textures.
- Experiments can probe SOC-induced phases to yield enantiospecific responses in chiral samples.
Related Concept Videos
02:25Chirality
28.9K
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...
28.9K
02:30Chirality in Nature
16.5K
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.
16.5K
02:05Prochirality
4.8K
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...
4.8K
02:25Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
14.8K
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...
14.8K
00:58¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons
3.1K
Replacing each alpha-hydrogen in chloroethane by bromine (or a different functional group) yields a pair of enantiomers. Such protons are called prochiral or enantiotopic and are related by a mirror plane. Enantiotopic protons are chemically equivalent in an achiral environment. Because most proton NMR spectra are recorded using achiral solvents, enantiotopic hydrogens yield a single signal.
In chiral compounds such as 2-butanol, replacing the methylene hydrogens at C3 produces a pair of...
In chiral compounds such as 2-butanol, replacing the methylene hydrogens at C3 produces a pair of...
3.1K
02:18Fischer Projections
16.1K
Learning to draw Fischer projections of molecules and understanding their relevance plays a crucial role in the visual depiction of organic molecules. A Fischer projection is a two-dimensional projection on a planar surface to simplify the three-dimensional wedge–dash representation of molecules. This is especially helpful in the case of molecules with multiple chiral centers that can be difficult to draw. Here, all the bonds of interest are represented as horizontal or vertical lines. While...
16.1K