Chiral symmetry breaking. II. Synthesis in cooperative systems

Abstract

As was suggested in Part I [J. Chem. Phys. 110, 10907 (1999), preceding paper], under certain conditions, in particular, when the system of molecules satisfies the conditions of cooperativity, the intermolecular interaction may result in enantiomeric excess in the solutions with chiral molecules, as well as with chiral–prochiral molecules. In the present paper, synthesis and conversion of chiral compounds is discussed within the microscopic approach. Kinetic description for the order–disorder phase transitions is proposed and applied to the system of conformational enantiomers. It is shown that the phase transition occurs in the second order with respect to the probability of the isomer conversion. Enantiomeric excess of the product is shown to depend on autocatalytic activity and intermolecular coupling of enantiomers, and on some characteristics of the solution as well. Based on the kinetic description, nonlinear effects in enantiomeric excess that resulted from the enantiomeric coupling of the chiral catalyst, as well as the transition of the solution of flexible chiral molecules to a new phase consisting of identical isomers, are considered.