Raman optical activity of tartaric acid and related molecules

Abstract

The Raman optical activity spectra of (2 R, 3 R) (+)- and (2 S,3 S) (−)-tartaric acid, (2 R, 3 R) (+)-dimethyl tartrate, (2 R,3 R) (−)-2,3-butanediol and (2 S, 3 S) (+)-dibenzoyl tartaric acid are presented. A large couplet at about 500cm −1 in the first three molecules, which probably originates in deformations of a chiral structural unit, might serve as an indicator of conformation and absolute configuration.