The temperature-dependent optical activity of quartz: from Le Châtelier to chirality measures

Dina Yogev-Einot, David Avnir*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Quartz, the most abundant mineral in Earth's crust, is a chiral crystal. It was the first material for which the phenomenon of the optical rotation was observed. In the late 19th century/beginning of the 20th, several researchers, the most famous of which is Le Châtelier, investigated how this optical rotation changes with temperature. By employing a modern analytical/computational tool for evaluating the degree of chirality on a continuous scale, we were able to show a remarkable agreement between the original optical rotation/temperature curve, and the chirality/temperature curve. We thus provide a direct interpretation of the early observations, as reflected in the dependence of the optical rotation of the degree of chirality, linking these two properties quantitatively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2723-2725
Number of pages3
JournalTetrahedron Asymmetry
Volume17
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Oct 2006

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