Weak Interactions ,Tunneling Racemization and Chiral Stability

TL;DR

This paper investigates how weak intermolecular interactions influence the tunneling racemization and chiral stability of molecules, using a quantum mechanical model with a double-well potential and perturbing potentials.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum model that accounts for weak interactions affecting chiral stability and tunneling racemization in molecules within different environments.

Findings

Zero energy difference E leads to optical instability.

Non-zero E can stabilize optical activity depending on interaction strength.

The model explains stability variations in gases, liquids, and solids.

Abstract

We study in the framework of the Schrodinger equation the effect of intermolecular interactions on the tunneling racemization of the active molecule. The active molecule is assumed as a two-level system and the left-right isomerism is viewed in terms of a double-bottomed harmonic potential well. The active molecule is assumed to be embedded in a gas, liquid or solid, submitted to a perturbing potential U created by the molecules of the sample. In our model we take into account the difference of energy E due to the weak interactions between the left (L) and right (R) configurations. We have shown that when E is equal to zero the system cannot be optically stable: the optical activity tends asymptotically to zero in the case of dilute gases or compressed gases and liquids or oscillates periodically around zero when the molecules are isolated or submitted to a static potential. Only when E is different of zero the system can be optically stable depending on the strength parameters of the potential U and on the magnitude of the spontaneous tunneling.