Home > Organic Chemistry > Meso Compounds

What is a meso compound?

Answer 1

Delilah Anderson

A meso compound is a compound that contains two or more chiral centres but is optically inactive.

It has an internal plane of symmetry and we can superimpose it on its own mirror image.

To identify a chiral compound, you look for two or more chiral centres and an internal plane of symmetry.

cis-1,2-dichlorocyclohexane is a meso compound. It has two chiral centres and an internal plane of symmetry.

trans-1,2-dichlorocyclohexane is not a meso compound. It lacks the internal mirror plane.

28 and 29 are two meso compounds. They have four chiral centres. But they are optically inactive because they have internal plane of symmetry.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Brooklyn Barber

A meso compound is a molecule that contains multiple stereocenters but is optically inactive due to internal compensation of the chiral centers. This occurs when the molecule possesses an internal plane of symmetry, which divides the molecule into two identical halves. As a result, any optical activity is canceled out, and the molecule is optically inactive.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.