Bond symmetry rule

The bond symmetry rule, however, shows that concerted trans addition is forbidden. It is also unlikely for steric reasons. 

Like other reactions of diatomic molecules this reaction is forbidden by symmetry to occur by a four-center transition state. In terms of the bond symmetry rules... 

Because a [1,5] sigmatropic rearrangement involves three electron pairs (two ir bonds and one cr bond), the orbital-symmetry rules in Table 30.3 predict a suprafacial reaction. In fact, the 1,5] suprafacial shift of a hydrogen atom across... 

Dihydrothiophene-1,1-dioxides (42) and 2,17-dihydrothiepin-1,1-dioxides (43) undergo analogous 1,4 and 1,6 eliminations, respectively (see also 17-38). These are concerted reactions and, as predicted by the orbital-symmetry rules (p. 1067), the former is a suprafacial process and the latter an antarafacial process. The rules also predict that elimination of SO2 from episulfones cannot take place by a concerted mechanism (except antarafacially, which is unlikely for such a small ring), and the evidence shows that this reaction occurs by a non-concerted pathway.The eliminations of SO2 from 42 and 43 are examples of cheletropic reactions, which are defined as reactions in which two a bonds that terminate at a single atom (in this case the sulfur atom) are made or broken in concert. 

The symmetries of the lowest excited states listed in Table 1 are nothing but the symmetries to which the most soft second-order bond distortions belong. It is seen that the types of symmetry reduction predicted using the symmetry rule are in complete agreement with those obtained on the basis of the dynamic theory. 

The mechanism of reaction of elec- 12 trophiles with some o-bonded (25) organotransition ions Symmetry rules for chemical reac- 9 tions (20)... 

Application of symmetry rules also yields important results for the class of reactions known as sigmatropic shifts, in which a double bond switches position as an atom or a group migrates ... 

In order to apply the Jemmis-Schleyer interstitial electron rule, the closo B H 2 dianions (their isoelectronic analogues are treated similarly) are dissected conceptually into two BH caps and one or two constituent (BH) rings. The BH- caps contribute three interstitial electrons each but the rings (which, formally, have zero electrons in the n MOs), contribute none. Hence, six electrons, described as interstitial, link the bonding symmetry-adapted cap and ring orbitals together perfectly. 

The first step in any chemical approach to crystalline structure is to determine the short-range order, i.e. which atoms are bonded. The most convenient way of doing this is by means of the bond graph described in Section 2.5. In many cases all or most of the bond graph can be determined from first principles, since, except for the weakest bonds created in the post-crystallization stage, the bond graph is determined by the rules of chemistry, particularly the hierarchical principle (Rule 11.5), the valence matching principle (Rule 4.2), and the principle of maximum symmetry (Rule 3.1). 

We have emphasized that the Diels-Alder reaction generally takes place rapidly and conveniently. In sharp contrast, the apparently similar dimerization of olefins to cyclobutanes (5-49) gives very poor results in most cases, except when photochemically induced. Fukui, Woodward, and Hoffmann have shown that these contrasting results can be explained by the principle of conservation of orbital symmetry,895 which predicts that certain reactions are allowed and others forbidden. The orbital-symmetry rules (also called the Woodward-Hoffmann rules) apply only to concerted reactions, e.g., mechanism a, and are based on the principle that reactions take place in such a way as to maintain maximum bonding throughout the course of the reaction. There are several ways of applying the orbital-symmetry principle to cycloaddition reactions, three of which are used more frequently than others.896 Of these three we will discuss two the frontier-orbital method and the Mobius-Huckel method. The third, called the correlation diagram method,897 is less convenient to apply than the other two. 

The ring opening of cyclopropyl cations (pp. 345, 1076) is an electrocyclic reaction and is governed by the orbital symmetry rules.389 For this case we invoke the rule that the o bond opens in such a way that the resulting/ orbitals have the symmetry of the highest occupied orbital of the product, in this case, an allylic cation. We may recall that an allylic system has three molecular orbitals (p. 32). For the cation, with only two electrons, the highest occupied orbital is the one of the lowest energy (A). Thus, the cyclopropyl cation must... 

The mechanisms of these reactions are not completely understood, although relief of strain undoubtedly supplies the driving force. The reactions are thermally forbidden by the orbital-symmetry rules, and the role of the catalyst is to provide low-energy pathways so that the reactions can take place. The type 1 reactions are the reverse of the catalyzed 2 + 2 ring closures discussed at 5-49, The following mechanism, in which Ag attacks one of the edge bonds, has been suggested for the conversion of 141 to 142.587... 

Hydrogenation of olefins is a good example for demonstrating the roles of the surface atoms in catalysis. The orbital symmetry rule in chemical reactions suggests that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of one reaction partner and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the other should meet the symmetry requirements. In this respect, a concerted addition of an H2 molecule to the double bond of an olefin, that is, a molecular addition reaction, is a forbidden process. Adsorption of olefin on transition metal surfaces undoubtedly changes the population of electrons in the HOMO (7tu) and the LUMO (re ) as shown schematically in Fig. 1. In spite of such perturbation of the electron densities of the HOMO and the... 

Silver8 adopted a similar approach, and proposed a further category of unfeasible reactions in which neither individual orbital correlation rules nor total symmetry correlation rules (Wigner-Witmer rules) were obeyed. Silver and Karplus87 have shown how to derive W-H symmetry rules using a simple valence-bond formalism. 

M-M bonded compounds, 4, 131 in monoolefin polymerization, 4, 141 Europium(II) complexes, alkyl compounds, 4, 4 Europocenes, characteristics, 4, 27 Evaporation rates, in metal vapor synthesis, 1, 225 Ewen s symmetry rules, for olefin polymerization stereocontrol, 4, 1023 Exchange reactions... 

In diatomic molecules, or more generally in localized two-center bonds, orbitals of two atoms that may be combined to form an MO are those that have the same symmetry about the axis between the two atomic centers in the bond. This rule does not extend to constructing MOs that extend over three or more atoms more complicated rules would be necessary. 

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