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Will stick to isolated, finite molecules (not crystals). SYMMETRY OPERATION. Carry out some operation on a molecule (or other object) - e.g. rotation. If final configuration is INDISTINGUISHABLE from the initial one - then the operation is a SYMMETRY OPERATION for that object.
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Will stick to isolated, finite molecules (not crystals). SYMMETRY OPERATION Carry out some operation on a molecule (or other object) - e.g. rotation. If final configuration is INDISTINGUISHABLE from the initial one - then the operation is a SYMMETRY OPERATION for that object. N.B. “Indistinguishable” does not necessarily mean “identical”.
e.g. for a square piece of card, rotate by 90º as shown below: Labels show final configuration is NOT identical to original. Further 90º rotations give other indistinguishable configurations - until after 4 (360º) the result is identical.
SYMMETRY OPERATIONS Motions of molecule (rotations, reflections, inversions etc. - see below) which convert molecule into configuration indistinguishable from original. SYMMETRY ELEMENTS
C3 Picture by MC Escher
When m = n we have a special case, which introduces a new type of symmetry operation.....
C2 σv σv’
A collection of symmetry operations all of which pass through a single point A point group for a molecule is a quantitative measure of the symmetry of that molecule
Assignment of molecules to point groups Is there a plane of symmetry? Step 1: Is there an axis of symmetry? N Y Molecule in point group Cs Y N Is there a horizontal plane of symmetry? Step 2: Are there C2 axes perpendicular to Cn? Is there a centre of symmetry? Y Molecule in point group Cj Y N Molecule in point group Cnh N N Y No symmetry except E: point group C1 Are there n vertical planes of symmetry? Step 3: There are nC2's perpendicular to Cn Is there a horizontal plane of symmetry? Y Y Molecule belongs to point group Dnh Molecule in point group Cnv N Are there n vertical planes of symmetry? Y Molecule in point group Dnd