Enantiomers of cobalt complexes

[ajpeeb]

Hi I am new to this so not sure if this is the right place to post just a quick question-

 

I have made the two enantiomers of tris(ethytlenediamine)cobalt(III) tri-iodide. I have then taken the two UV-vis spectra of the two complexes and also the racemic mixture. All 3 absorbed at roughly 460nm but showed different absorbance- the l enantiomer showed highest absorbance and the d enantiomer showed lowest with the racemic mixture falling directly between the two. Can anyone explain why two enantiomers would show a different absorbance - (and therefore a different molar extinction coefficient)?

 

Thanks