Optical Activity and Molecular Dissymmetry in Coordination Chemistry

Classical and quantum mechanical theories of optical activity are reviewed with particular reference to the coordination compounds of the transition metal ions. The limiting cases of 'the inherently dissymmetric chromophore' and of 'the symmetric chromophore in a chiral molecular environment' are exemplified respectively by a discussion of the non-empirical exciton treatment of the tris-2,2'-bipyridyl and tris-1,lO-phenanthroline complexes of the irongroup metals, and of empirical regional rules relating the position of a substituent to the optical activity of amine complexes of cobalt(m) and analogous metal ions.