Inorganic arrow pushing

INORGANIC ARROW PUSHING THINKING LIKE A LONE PAIR... 

Arrow Pushing in Inorganic Chemistry A Logical Approach to the Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements, First Edition. Abhik Ghosh and Steffen Berg. 

PTs between electronegative atoms are fast and reversible. They are enormously important, not only in organic and inorganic chemistry but also in biology. In terms of arrow pushing, PTs look very much like Sj 2 displacements ... 

Organic chemists have codified a number of rules and guidelines as aids to arrow pushing. We ll summarize a few of them here as a starting point for exploring the more diverse world of inorganic mechanisms. 

Much of the material presented in this chapter is well covered in the organic and inorganic texts listed in Appendices 1 and 2. Among the references hsted below, the first four are excellent resources for arrow pushing in organic chemistry. 

This chemistry is a good reminder that arrow pushing explains a lot, particularly the how of chemical reactions, but not the why. Other concepts such as chemical bonding and thermodynamics therefore must not be ignored. The reaction is also an inspiration that truly fundamental discoveries are waiting to be made. The old motto Plus ultra (further beyond ) continues to be an appropriate one for inorganic chemistry. 

Ghosh A, Berg S (2014) Arrow pushing in inorganic chemistry a logical approach to the chemistry of main group elements. Wiley, New York... 

We shall show you the mechanism of the cleavage, because it leads us nicely into the next chapter. The first step is rather like the first step of many oxidations—formation of an inorganic ester (here a periodate). The periodate can form a cyclic ester by attack on the carbonyl group. Next, we can push the arrows round the ring to reduce the iodine from l(Vll) to 1(V), cleave the double bond, and generate acetone and the acid. 

---