Through a Glass Darkly—Some Thoughts on Symmetry and Chemistry

Abstract

This article reviews the development of concepts of chirality in chemistry. The story follows the parallel development of the optical properties of materials and the understanding of chemical structure until the two are fused in the recognition of the tetrahedral carbon atom in 1874. The different types of chiral molecule that have been identified since the first concept of the asymmetric carbon atom are introduced as is the notation used in various disciplines of chemistry to describe the relative or absolute configuration. In the final section, a polemical case for a unified nomenclature is presented.

Hydrogen and Lithium Bonds—Lewis Acid Units Possessing Multi-Center Covalent Bonds

“…The interaction energy in the SAPT approach is the sum of the following terms: the first-order electrostatics (E elst (1) ), second-order induction (E ind (2) ) and dispersion (E disp (2) ) energies, and their exchange counterparts (first-order exchange (E exch (1) ), second-order exchange-induction (E exch-ind (2) ) and exchange-dispersion (E exch-disp (2) )). Up to the second order, the SAPT approach contains a main part of the energy of interaction.…”

“…(1) More than one electron pair may be located between two atomic centers, thus double and triple bonds are observed. This issue was taken into account by Butlerow in his studies on structural chemistry [1];…”

Enantiopure Cyclometalated Rh(III) and Ir(III) Complexes Displaying Rigid Configuration at Metal Center: Design, Structures, Chiroptical Properties and Role of the Iodide Ligand

“…Chirality is an ever-fascinating topic and occurs in many fields of science [1][2][3][4]. In the area of transition metal complexes, Brunner [5,6], Gladysz [7,8], von Zelewsky [9], Meggers [10], Constable [11] and others [12,13] have made great contributions to the advancement and comprehension of the elements that control the chirality at metal centers at the molecular and supramolecular levels [11,14].…”