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Atom which is the focus of stereoisomerism in a molecule

In stereochemistry, a stereocenter of a molecule is an atom (center), axis or plane that is the focus of stereoisomerism; that is, when having at least three different groups bound to the stereocenter, interchanging any two different groups creates a new stereoisomer. Stereocenters are also referred to as stereogenic centers. A stereocenter is geometrically defined as a point (location) in a molecule; a stereocenter is usually but not always a specific atom, often carbon. Stereocenters can exist on chiral or achiral molecules; stereocenters can contain single bonds or double bonds. A molecule having multiple stereocenters will produce many possible stereoisomers. In compounds whose stereoisomerism is due to tetrahedral (sp3) stereogenic centers, the total number of hypothetically possible stereoisomers will not exceed 2n, where n is the number of tetrahedral stereocenters. However, this is an upper bound because molecules with symmetry frequently have fewer stereoisomers. The stereoisomers produced by the presence of multiple stereocenters can be defined as enantiomers (non superposable mirror images) and diastereomers (non superposable, non identical, non mirror image molecules). Since a meso compound is superposable on its mirror image, the two "stereoisomers" are actually identical. Resultantly, a meso compound will reduce the number of stereoisomers to below the hypothetical 2n amount due to symmetry. A designation of R denotes a clockwise direction of substituent priority around the stereocenter, while a designation of S denotes a counter clockwise direction of substituent priority. In organic chemistry, a chirality center usually refers to a carbon, phosphorus, or sulfur atom, though it is also possible for other atoms to be chirality centers, especially in areas of organometallic and inorganic chemistry. The concept of a chirality center generalizes the concept of an asymmetric carbon atom (a carbon atom bonded to four different entities) to a broader definition of any atom with four different attachment groups in which an interchanging of any two attachment groups gives rise to an enantiomer.

A carbon atom that is attached to four different substituent groups is called an asymmetric carbon atom or chiral carbon. Chiral carbons are the most common type of chirality center. However, nitrogen inversion, a form of pyramidal inversion, causes racemization which means that both epimers at that nitrogen are present under normal circumstances. Racemization by nitrogen inversion may be restricted (such as quaternary ammonium or phosphonium cations), or slow, which allows the existence of chirality. Metal atoms with tetrahedral or octahedral geometries may also be chiral due to having different ligands. For the octahedral case, several chiralities are possible. Having three ligands of two types, the ligands may be lined up along the meridian, giving the mer isomer, or forming a face—the fac isomer. Having three bidentate ligands of only one type gives a propeller type structure, with two different enantiomers denoted Λ and Δ.

As mentioned earlier, the requirement for an atom to be a chirality center is that the atom must be sp3 hybridized with four different attachments. Because of this, all chirality centers are stereocenters. However, only under some conditions is the reverse true. Recall that a point can be considered a sterocenter with a minimum of three attachment points; stereocenters can be either sp3 or sp2 hybridized, as long as the interchanging any two different groups creates a new stereoisomer. This means that although all chirality centers are stereocenters, not every stereocenter is a chirality center. Stereocenters are important identifiers for chiral or achiral molecules. As a general rule, if a molecule has no stereocenters, it is considered achiral. If it has at least one stereocenter, the molecule has the potential for chirality. However, there are some exceptions like meso compounds that make molecules with multiple stereocenters considered achiral.