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Enantiomers vs. Diastereomers definitions

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  • Chiral Center
    A carbon atom bonded to four distinct groups, enabling non-superimposable mirror image forms.
  • Achiral Compound
    A molecule that is superimposable on its mirror image, lacking handedness.
  • Atropisomer
    A molecule without chiral centers that is chiral due to restricted rotation around a bond.
  • Enantiomer
    A stereoisomer that is a non-superimposable mirror image of another molecule.
  • Diastereomer
    A stereoisomer that is not a mirror image of its counterpart, differing at one or more but not all chiral centers.
  • Meso Compound
    A molecule with multiple chiral centers that is achiral due to an internal plane of symmetry.
  • Stereoisomer
    A compound with the same molecular formula and connectivity but differing in spatial arrangement.
  • Mirror Image
    A spatial arrangement that reflects a molecule as if seen in a mirror, used to distinguish enantiomers.
  • 2 to the n Rule
    A formula predicting the maximum number of stereoisomers, where n equals the number of stereocenters.
  • Stereocenter
    An atom, typically carbon, at which the interchange of two groups produces a stereoisomer.
  • Internal Symmetry
    A feature where a molecule can be divided into two identical halves, leading to achirality in some cases.
  • Non-superimposable
    A property where two objects cannot be placed on top of each other to give the same structure.
  • Handedness
    A characteristic of molecules that exist in forms which are mirror images but not superimposable.