Bailar twist

The Bailar twist is a mechanism proposed for the racemization of octahedral complexes containing three bidentate chelate rings. Such complexes typically adopt an octahedral molecular geometry and are thus chiral.^[1] One pathway by which these compounds can racemize is via the formation of a trigonal prismatic intermediate with D3h point group symmetry. An alternative pathway is called the Ray-Dutt twist. This pathway is called the Bailar twist in honor of John C. Bailar, Jr., an inorganic chemist who investigated this process.^[2]

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References

1. ^ "Bailar Twist" in Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 2006. DOI: 10.1002/0470862106.id070
2. ^ A. Rodger, B. F. G. Johnson (1988). "Which is more likely: the Ray-Dutt twist or the Bailar twist?". Inorganic Chemistry 27 (18): 3061-3062.