How does a chiral molecule function?

 

  The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001  
     
 

 
 

The substances used as the starting point for these syntheses are in general not chiral. The trick is to make the product chiral. This is done using a chiral catalyst molecule. Suppose we compare this molecule with a left hand. A left hand will make a better match in a handshake with another left hand (one of the two emerging product forms) than with a right hand (the other form of the product). Thus a chiral catalyst can control production of the desired chiral product.
 
 
 Contents:
| Introduction | Nature is chiral | What is catalytic asymmetric synthesis? | How does a chiral molecule function? | Chemistry becomes three-dimensional | Pioneering work | General hydrogenations | Chirally catalysed oxidations | Further reading | Credits |
Based on materials from the 2001 Nobel Poster for Chemistry
Web Adapted Version of the Nobel Poster from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
 

To cite this section
MLA style: How does a chiral molecule function?. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Thu. 16 May 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2001/9094-how-does-a-chiral-molecule-function/>

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