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Homochirality as a consequence of thermodynamic equilibrium?

Crusats J, Veintemillas-Verdaguer S, Ribó JM

Departament de Química Orgànica Universitat de Barcelona, c. Martí i Franquès 1.08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. j.crusats@ub.edu

Recent results on the crystallisation/dissolution equilibrium of enantiomorphic crystals of NaClO3 lead to the conclusion that liquid-phase systems composed of achiral or fast racemising compounds yielding enantiomorphic solid phases (racemic conglomerates) can derive spontaneously to a single homochiral solid phase. This is a thermodynamically driven total resolution, which can only occur when the system is so perturbed that chiral recognition between the species of the system becomes feasible.

Published 16 October 2006 in Chemistry, 12(30): 7776-81.
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