New Theoretical Concepts For Understanding Organic Reactions

People who attended the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) entitled NEW THEORETICAL CONCEPTS FOR UNDERSTANDING ORGANIC REAC TIONS held at Sant Feliu de Gufxols on the Costa Brava of Spain had a unique experience. They have seen the evolution of the field from qualitative arguments through the generation of Potential Energy Surfaces (PES) to the use of PES in molecular dynamics. The excellent lectures that were dedicated to the various aspects of Potential Energy Surfaces clearly revealed a colossal amount of ma terial that represents our current understanding of the overall problem. It is our hope that the present volume will recreate the excitement in the readers that we all experienced during the meeting in Spain. One can say, without too much exaggeration, that chemistry has become and exercise on potential energy surfaces (PES). Structural (position of the energy minima), spectroscopic (vicinity around the minima), and reactivity (reaction path along the surface) properties may be determined from the analysis of PES. New theoretical tools, together with recent developments in computer technology and programming, have allowed to obtain a better knowledge of these surfaces, and to extract further chemical information from them, so new horizons have been added to Theoretical Organic Chemistry.

First/second year text in chemistry.

Helps to develop new perspectives and a deeper understanding oforganic chemistry Instructors and students alike have praised Perspectives onStructure and Mechanism in Organic Chemistry because itmotivates readers to think about organic chemistry in new andexciting ways. Based on the author's first hand classroomexperience, the text uses complementary conceptual models to givenew perspectives on the structures and reactions of organiccompounds. The first five chapters of the text discuss the structure andbonding of stable molecules and reactive intermediates. These arefollowed by a chapter exploring the methods that organic chemistsuse to study reaction mechanisms. The remaining chapters examinedifferent types of acid-base, substitution, addition, elimination,pericyclic, and photochemical reactions. This Second Edition has been thoroughly updated andrevised to reflect the latest findings in physical organicchemistry. Moreover, this edition features: New references to the latest primary and review literature More study questions to help readers better understand andapply new concepts in organic chemistry Coverage of new topics, including density functional theory,quantum theory of atoms in molecules, Marcus theory, molecularsimulations, effect of solvent on organic reactions, asymmetricinduction in nucleophilic additions to carbonyl compounds, anddynamic effects on reaction pathways The nearly 400 problems in the text do more than allow studentsto test their understanding of the concepts presented in eachchapter. They also encourage readers to actively review andevaluate the chemical literature and to develop and defend theirown ideas. With its emphasis on complementary models and independentproblem-solving, this text is ideal for upper-level undergraduateand graduate courses in organic chemistry.

The papers in this volume were presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Porto Novo, Portugal, August 26 - September 8, 1990. The Institute has been able to cover a wide spectrum of the Theoretical and Computational Models for organic molecules and organic reactions, ranging from the ab initio to the more empirical approaches, in the tradition established in the previous Institutes at S. Feliu de Guixols (Spain) and Altinoluk (Turkey). The continuity with this work was achieved by inviting half of the lecturers present in those meetings. But other important subjects were also covered at Porto Novo by new lecturers, both from universities and the industry. Molecular Mechanics, Protein Structure and Unidimensional Models were introduced by the first time. The concept of building on the expertise already acquired and available, both in terms of methods and contents, to develop in new directions, was appreciated by participants and lecturers. The Institute first considered the fundamentals of molecular orbital computations and ab initio methods and the construction of Potential Energy Surfaces. These subjects were further explored in several applications related with optimization of equilibrium geometries and transition structures. Practical examples were studied in Tutorial sessions and solved in the computational projects making use of the Gaussian 88 and Gaussian 90 programs. Empirical models can be complementary to the quantum-mechanical ones in equilibrium geometry optimizations.

This book provides state-of-the-art information on how studies in applied theoretical organic chemistry are conducted. It highlights the many approaches and tools available to those interested in using computational chemistry to predict and rationalize structures and reactivity of organic molecules. Chapters not only describe theoretical techniques in detail, but also describe recent applications and offer practical advice. Authored by many of the world leaders in the field of applied theoretical chemistry, this book is perfect for both practitioners of computational chemistry and synthetic and mechanistic organic chemists curious about applying computational techniques to their research. Contents: Modeling Organic Reactions — General Approaches, Caveats, and Concerns (Stephanie R Hare, Brandi M Hudson and Dean J Tantillo)Overview of Computational Methods for Organic Chemists (Edyta M Greer and Kitae Kwon)Brief History of Applied Theoretical Organic Chemistry (Steven M Bachrach)Solvation (Carlos Silva Lopez and Olalla Nieto Faza)Conformational Searching for Complex, Flexible Molecules (Alexander C Brueckner, O Maduka Ogba, Kevin M Snyder, H Camille Richardson and Paul Ha-Yeon Cheong)NMR Prediction (Kelvin E Jackson and Robert S Paton)Energy Decomposition Analysis and Related Methods (Israel Fernández)Systems with Extensive Delocalization (L Zoppi and K K Baldridge)Modern Treatments of Aromaticity (Judy I-Chia Wu)Weak Intermolecular Interactions (Rajat Maji and Steven E Wheeler)Predicting Reaction Pathways from Reactants (Romain Ramozzi, W M C Sameera and Keiji Morokuma)Unusual Potential Energy Surfaces and Nonstatistical Dynamic Effects (Charles Doubleday)The Distortion/Interaction Model for Analysis of Activation Energies of Organic Reactions (K N Houk, Fang Liu, Yun-Fang Yang and Xin Hong)Spreadsheet-Based Computational Predictions of Isotope Effects (O Maduka Ogba, John D Thoburn and Daniel J O'Leary)Stereoelectronic Effects: Analysis by Computational and Theoretical Methods (Gabriel dos Passos Gomes and Igor Alabugin)pKa Prediction (Yijie Niu and Jeehiun K Lee)Issues Particular to Organometallic Reactions (Gang Lu, Huiling Shao, Humair Omer and Peng Liu)Computationally Modeling Nonadiabatic Dynamics and Surface Crossings in Organic Photoreactions (Arthur Winter)Challenges in Predicting Stereoselectivity (Elizabeth H Krenske) Readership: Practitioners of computational chemistry and synthetic and mechanistic organic chemists curious about applying computational techniques to their research. Keywords: Organic Chemistry;Theoretical Chemistry;Stereoselectivity;NMR Prediction;pKa Prediction;Organic PhotoreactionsReview: Key Features: A particular strength is the mix of theoretical background, informative examples and practical advice providedChapters are authored by many of world leaders in the field of applied theoretical chemistry

The lecturers as well as the participants came from varied scientific backgrOlUldsfor the NATO -Advanced Study Institute (ASDheld atAltinoluk, Edremit. Turkey during the period of July 31 -August 12 1989. The lecturers were University Professors from the USA, Canada, England, C'-.ermany, France and Spain and they covered a broad spectrwn of specialities from methodology t.o appications. On the other hand students coming from the various NATO countries arrived with an inhomogeneous background to absorb the broad spectnUIl of material covered by the lecturers. However, by the end of the two week period of the ASI, that initial difference in scientific background had been reduced substantially . The lecturers had covered subject matters from the most fundamental to the most applied aspects of theoretical and computational organic chemistry. The lectures were argnmented with tutorial sessions and computational laboratory led by a small group of carefnlly selected tutors. Overall, this NATO -ASI was a ~at success and the Editors are hopeful that the present volume will communicate the scientific success and will radiate the intellectual spirit of the meeting.