Question #5621e
1 Answer
Mar 10, 2017
with a non-chiral compound, yes! absolutely!
Explanation:
In terms of chemistry and connectivity, each enantiomer will react exactly the same with a non-chiral molecule.
However, if the reactant is chiral, then you are in a situation where you will have two different transition states, defined by the geometries of the two enantiomers. Or, possibly, you will have a situation where an optically pure reagent will selectively form an insoluble salt with one of the enantiomers. but not the other. If you are interested, you can see an explanation for this in Wikipedia: Chiral Resolution
The important thing is that for non-chiral reactants there is no difference in how the optical isomers react.
