Mechanism of chiral asymmetry generation by chiral autocatalysis in the preparation of chiral octahedral cobalt complex

Chiral asymmetry generation, the predominant production of one enantiomer in a non-chiral environment, could occur in the production of the chiral complex cis-[CoBr(NH₃)(en)₂]Br₂ by the reaction of [Co(H₂O)₂{(OH)₂Co(en)₂}₂](SO₄)₂ with ammonium bromide in an aqueous medium. The main kinetic steps in the reaction system have been determined. During the reaction, the product crystallizes at an early stage. When a very small amount of crystalline enantiomer was added to the reaction system at an early stage, the same enantiomer was produced preferentially; in addition, the enantiomeric excess of the product increased with increasing the stirring rate. Thus, it seems that each enantiomer generates chiral crystals that could self-replicate through secondary nucleation when the solution is stirred; these crystals in turn enhance the production of the same enantiomer. With a computer code that simulates such a kinetic mechanism, it is shown that enantiomeric excess observed in the experiments could be reproduced.