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Absolute Asymmetric Synthesis in Enantioselective Autocatalytic Reaction Networks: Theoretical Games, Speculations on Chemical Evolution and Perhaps a Synthetic Option
Author(s) -
Ribó Josep M.,
Blanco Celia,
Crusats Joaquim,
ElHachemi Zoubir,
Hochberg David,
Moyano Albert
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201404534
Subject(s) - enantioselective synthesis , autocatalysis , autocatalytic reaction , mathematical economics , chemistry , mathematics , organic chemistry , statistical physics , physics , catalysis
Abstract The Soai reaction and the Viedma deracemization of racemic conglomerate crystal mixtures are experimental pieces of evidence of the ability of enantioselective autocatalytic coupled networks to yield absolute asymmetric synthesis. Thermodynamically open systems or systems with non‐uniform energy distributions may lead to chiral final states and, in systems able to come into thermodynamic equilibrium with their surroundings, to kinetically controlled absolute asymmetric synthesis. The understanding of network parameters and of the thermodynamic scenarios that may lead to spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SMSB) could assist in the development of new methods for asymmetric synthesis and enantioselective polymerizations (e.g., replicators), and to frame reasonable speculations on the origin of biological homochirality.