183k views
3 votes
Is caffeine optically active

User Yu Chia Wu
by
7.8k points

1 Answer

5 votes
Caffeine is not optically active because it is a planar heterocycle. When you say optically active, it means that compounds have molecules which are chiral. Chirality is the property of molecules as a result of its structure. And when you say planar heterocycle, molecules are flat and the ring should contain atoms located in a similar plane. 
User Aaron Beall
by
8.0k points

Related questions