Editing Meso compound (section)

{{Short description|Optically inactive isomer in a set of stereoisomers}}
{{confuse|Mesomer}}
A '''meso compound''' or''' meso isomer''' is an [[optical activity|optically inactive]] [[isomer]] in a set of [[stereoisomers]], at least two of which are optically active.<ref name="Ault 2008">{{cite journal | last=Ault | first=Addison | title=The Meaning of Meso | journal=Journal of Chemical Education |  volume=85 | issue=3 | year=2008 | issn=0021-9584 | doi=10.1021/ed085p441 | page=441| bibcode=2008JChEd..85..441A }}</ref><ref name="gold book">{{GoldBookRef |title=meso-compound |file=M03839 }}</ref> This means that despite containing two or more [[stereocenter]]s, the molecule is not [[Chirality (chemistry)|chiral]]. A meso compound is superposable on its mirror image (not to be confused with superimposable, as any two objects can be superimposed over one another regardless of whether they are the same). Two objects can be superposed if all aspects of the objects coincide and it does not produce a "(+)" or "(-)" reading when analyzed with a [[polarimeter]].'''<ref name="McMurry">{{cite book | author = McMurry, John | title = Organic Chemistry (7th Ed.) | publisher = Thomson| pages = 305–7 | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-495-11258-7}}</ref>''' The name is derived from the Greek ''mésos'' meaning “middle”.

For example, [[tartaric acid]] can exist as any of three stereoisomers depicted below in a [[Fischer projection]]. Of the four colored pictures at the top of the [[diagram]], the first two represent the meso compound (the 2''[[Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules|R]]'',3''[[Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules|S]]'' and 2''[[Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules|S]]'',3''[[Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules|R]]'' isomers are equivalent), followed by the optically active pair of [[tartaric acid|levotartaric acid]] (L-(''R,R'')-(+)-tartaric acid) and [[tartaric acid|dextrotartaric acid]] (D-(''S,S'')-(-)-tartaric acid). The meso compound is bisected by an internal [[plane of symmetry]] that is not present for the non-meso isomers (indicated by an X). That is, on reflecting the meso compound through a mirror plane perpendicular to the screen, the same stereochemistry is obtained; this is not the case for the non-meso tartaric acid,<ref name="McMurry" /> which generates the other [[enantiomer]]. The meso compound must not be confused with a 50:50 [[racemic]] mixture of the two optically-active compounds, although neither will rotate light in a [[polarimeter]].    

[[Image:Meso ethane.png|600 px]]   

It is a requirement for two of the stereocenters in a meso compound to have at least two substituents in common (although having this characteristic does not necessarily mean that the compound is meso). For example, in 2,4-pentanediol, both the second and fourth carbon atoms, which are stereocenters, have all four substituents in common. 

[[File:S4-tetrafluorospiropentane-3D-bs-17.png|thumb|One of the two meso isomers of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorospiropentane, with S{{sub|4}} symmetry.]]

Since a meso isomer has a superposable mirror image, a compound with a total of ''n'' chiral centers cannot attain the theoretical maximum of 2<sup>''n''</sup> stereoisomers if one of the stereoisomers is meso.<ref>Bruice, Paula. Organic Chemistry. 2007. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River NJ.</ref>

A meso isomer need not have a mirror plane. It may have an [[inversion in a point|inversion]] or a [[rotoreflection|rotoreflexion]] symmetry such as S{{sub|4}}. For example, there are two meso isomers of 1,4-difluoro-2,5-dichlorocyclohexane but neither has a mirror plane, and there are two meso isomers of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorospiropentane (see figure).