Optical isomerism
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Optical isomerismWOndered why we can't have optical isomers when there are 4 monodentate ligands and one bidentate ligand..
It is still making a octahedral shape but apparently they do not have an optical isomerism
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Re: Optical isomerismTo display optical isomerism there must be a non-superimposible mirror image structure.(Original post by arvin_infinity)
WOndered why we can't have optical isomers when there are 4 monodentate ligands and one bidentate ligand..
It is still making a octahedral shape but apparently they do not have an optical isomerism
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Re: Optical isomerismI just drew one and it looks as though there is a non-super imposable mirror image(Original post by charco)
To display optical isomerism there must be a non-superimposible mirror image structure.
Try it out for yourself...
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Re: Optical isomerismThe absolute definition is that the molecule must not have a center of inversion or an improper rotational axis. All shapes can be described by a 'point group' which describes all the information about the molecules symmetry.
This is a branch of a mathematical field called 'group theory', and is well beyond my understanding being only a chemist. It is used in chemistry to simplify many problems to trivial calculations, such as calculating the number and nature of vibrations within a molecule.
It isn't very hard to get to grips with some of the symmetry operations (eg a plane of symmetry or a rotational axis) and there are many good websites with animations to help visualize them. Try searching molecular symmetry
