Vibrational Circular Dichroism

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Abstract
Since the first discovery by Biot and Pasteur that some molecules rotate the polarization of light, this optical activity has been recognized to be a consequence of molecular structure [1]. In fact, natural optical activity is one of the most structurally sensitive techniques available to the spectroscopist and, hence, has been extensively exploited. Most spectroscopic techniques evidence sensitivity to detailed molecular geometry only via perturbation of energy levels and selection rules. However, molecular optical activity comes about as the direct result of the geometrical arrangement and interaction of the atoms in a molecule [2]. In a somewhat oversimplified manner, the observable optical activity can be viewed to have a first-order dependence on the molecular asymmetry.