Optical rotation of achiral pentaerythritol

J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Nov 22;128(46):14746-7. doi: 10.1021/ja064631q.

Abstract

The optical rotatory power of achiral crystals of achiral pentaerythritol molecules was measured. The maximum rotations were found to be +/-6 degrees /mm. The quantum mechanically computed rotation of pentaerythritol molecules using linear response theory was 6 times larger although the experimental and theoretical tensors were similarly oriented to within 5 degrees .