Pfeiffer Effect

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The Pfeiffer Effect is an optical phenomenon whereby an optically active solute influences the optical rotation of a racemic mixture. Racemic mixtures do not rotate plane polarized light, but the equilibrium concentration of the two enantiomers can shift from unity in the presence of a strongly interacting chiral species. The effect is named for its discovered Paul Pfeiffer, student of Alfred Werner and inventor of the salen ligand.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Paul Pfeiffer, Kurt Quehl (1932). "Aktivierung von Komplexsalzen in wäßriger Lösung". Chemische Berichte 65: 560–565. doi:10.1002/cber.19320650410.