Bailar twist
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The Bailar twist is a mechanism proposed for the racemization of octahedral complexes containing three bidentate chelate rings. Such complexes typically adopt an octahedral molecular geometry and are thus chiral.[1] One pathway by which these compounds can racemize is via the formation of a trigonal prismatic intermediate with D3h point group symmetry. An alternative pathway is called the Ray-Dutt twist. This pathway is called the Bailar twist in honor of John C. Bailar, Jr., an inorganic chemist who investigated this process.[2]
