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Prochiral Molecule

  • Page ID
    40902
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    A prochiral molecule is an achiral molecule containing at least one pair of enantiotopic ligands.

    eg:

    prochiralmolecule1.png

    1 is achiral, and Ha and Hb in 1 are enantiotopic. Thus, 1 is prochiral. In a prochiral molecule, an atom bearing a pair of enantiotopic ligands is called a prochiral center or prochirality center. If a prochirality center is a carbon atom, it can also be called a prochiral carbon.

    prochiralmolecule2.png

    see also chiral molecule, chiral center


    This page titled Prochiral Molecule is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gamini Gunawardena via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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