ABSTRACT
An understanding of the polarization properties of light is essential to any discussion of chiroptical measurements. The chiroptical spectroscopic methods that have been developed take advantage of the fact that anisotropic materials are capable of producing the same effects in polarized light as do anisotropic crystalline optical elements. A variety of chiroptical techniques are available, and these can be useful in analytical work. The foremost problem is a determination of the absolute configuration of all dissymmetric atoms within a molecule. The optical rotation, optical rotatory dispersion, and circular dichroism methods yield information relating to the ground electronic state of the chiral molecule. The range of techniques suitable for the study of molecular optical activity is extensive, and sophisticated instrumentation for it continues to evolve. Since all chiral molecules exhibit strong absorption in the infrared region of the spectrum, extensive investigation into the optical activity of vibrational transitions has been carried out.
