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Characteristics of Enantiomers

Characteristics of Enantiomers

  • Enantiomers have similar intensive properties(boiling point, refractive index, density, etc.)
  • They are optically active organic compounds, which means they are capable of rotating the plane of polarized light.
  • Enantiomers are of two types: a) Wedge or Dashed or b) Fischer Projection Formulae
  1. Wedge and dash formula
  • In the Wedge method, the four groups are represented by different means.
  • A normal line represents the bond lying in the plane of the paper.
  • A broken line represents the bond going behind the plane of the paper, and a solid wedge represents the bond projected out towards the viewer.

  1. Fischer Projection Formula

This method is used to represent the three-dimensional arrangement of groups bonded to the chiral center, Emily Fischer devised this method.

  1. Two perpendicular lines represent the chiral center.
  2. The horizontal line represents the bonds projected out of the plane towards the viewer.
  3. Vertical lines represent the bond projected back from the plane, away from the viewer.

Fischer Projection of 2-butanol

 

 

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