ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how the different properties of stereoisomers of a compound arise, and what processes can be used to prepare and analyze stereoisomerically pure compounds. It presents prominent coverage of the stereochemistry of inorganic and organometallic compounds, which is likely to increase in importance, as these compounds are used as symmetric catalysts in asymmetric synthesis. Racemization is the process whereby one enantiomer of a compound is converted into a 1 : 1 mixture of the two possible enantiomers, that is a racemic mixture. Aldehydes and ketones enolize under acidic as well as basic conditions, and this can cause racemization of a stereocentre adjacent to a carbonyl group if a hydrogen atom is also present on the stereocentre. Resolution by crystallization is of significant historical importance, since the first resolution, that of racemic sodium ammonium tartrate, was achieved in this way by Louis Pasteur.
