Deductive molecular mechanics compounds

The two ways of learning - deductive and inductive - have already been mentioned. Quite a few properties of chemical compounds can be calculated explicitly. Foremost of these are quantum mechanical methods. However, molecular mechanics methods and even simple empirical methods can often achieve quite high accuracy in the calculation of properties. These deductive methods are discussed in Chapter 7. 

Let us use the above ideas to make deductions about the detailed mechanisms of some important reactions of transition metal organometallic compounds. Most of these have molecules of very low S5unmetry and group theoretic rules are of little help. Nevertheless, the molecular orbital theory of bonding is well developed in these compounds (Cotton Schlafer and Gliemann 35b)). 

Structural formulas serve a key role as devices to facilitate communication of chemical information, but it is important to recognize at the outset that the relationship of a structural formula to molecular structure is a symbolic one. The current system of structural formulas arose largely as a result of chemistry done in the last half of the nineteenth century. Elemental analyses, interrelation of various compounds, and systematic investigation of the reactivity of various functional groups permitted organic chemists to deduce correctly much information about molecular structure. For many molecules, it became possible to draw conclusions as to which atoms were directly connected. Lines drawn between atoms were used to represent direct connections or bonds. These structural deductions predated modern concepts of atomic and molecular structure and of the nature of the forces that bind atoms. With the advent of quantum mechanics and new experimental techniques for accurate determination of such basic structural parameters as bond lengths and bond... 

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