Abstract
A simple procedure for determining whether a pericyclic reaction is thermally allowed is described. The focus is on the potential aromaticity of the transition state of the process, wich is inferred from the topological features of the interacting orbitals and the number of electrons involved.
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Suggested Reading
R B Woodward and R Hoffmann. The conservation of orbital symmetry. Verlag Chemie. Weinheim, 1970.
A P Marchand and R E Lehr. Pericyclic reactions. Academic Press. New York, 1977.
T Gilchrist and R E Storr, Organic reactions and orbital symmetry. Cambridge University Press, 1979.
N S Isaacs, Physical Organic Chemistry. Longman, 1987.
T H Lowry and K S Richardson. Mechanism and theory in Organic Chemistry. Harper Collins. New York, 1987.
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After nearly a threedecade long innings as an inspiring teacher and researcher at IIT Kanpur, S Ranganathan is now at RRL, Thiruvananthapuram.
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Ranganathan, S. A tale of two topologies: Woodward-hoffmann rules at your fingertips!. Reson 16, 1211–1222 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-011-0136-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-011-0136-7