Bailar twist

The Bailar twist is a mechanism proposed for the racemization of octahedral complexes containing three bidentate chelate rings.

Such complexes typically adopt an octahedral molecular geometry, in which case they possess helical chirality.

[1] One pathway by which these compounds can racemize is via the formation of a trigonal prismatic intermediate with D3h point group symmetry.

This pathway is named in honor of John C. Bailar, Jr., an inorganic chemist who investigated this process.

[2] An alternative pathway is called the Ray–Dutt twist.