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Enantiomers are stereoisomers that have mirror images of one another but are not superimposable or identical to one another. Racemization is the process of creating an equal mixture of all potential enantiomers when a molecule is transformed. Racemic mixture is the name given to the resulting mixture.

Any substance's ability to rotate plane polarised light is known as the substance's optical activity.

When optically active butane-2-ol is racemized in diluted acid, the protonation of the hydroxyl group—rather than the SN1 mechanism—leads to the formation of the carbocation, which causes water to attack the intermediate either from the front or the back. Butane-2-ol is produced in a racemic mixture as a result of this assault.

The mechanism for the racemisation of butane-2-ol with a dilute acid is as follows,