Product Description

Molecular orbital theory is used by chemists to describe the arrangement of electrons in chemical structures. It is also a theory capable of giving some insight into the forces involved in the making and breaking of chemical bonds—the chemical reactions that are often the focus of an organic chemist’s interest. Organic chemists with a serious interest in understanding and explaining their work usually express their ideas in molecular orbital terms, so much so that it is now an essential component of every organic chemist’s skills to have some acquaintance with molecular orbital theory.

Molecular Orbitals and Organic Chemical Reactions is both a simplified account of molecular orbital theory and a review of its applications in organic chemistry; it provides a basic introduction to the subject and a wealth of illustrative examples. In this book molecular orbital theory is presented in a much simplified, and entirely non-mathematical language, accessible to every organic chemist, whether student or research worker, whether mathematically competent or not. Topics covered include:

* Molecular Orbital Theory

* Molecular Orbitals and the Structures of Organic Molecules

* Chemical Reactions — How Far and How Fast

* Ionic Reactions — Reactivity

* Ionic Reactions — Stereochemistry

* Pericyclic Reactions

* Radical Reactions

* Photochemical Reactions

This expanded Reference Edition of Molecular Orbitals and Organic Chemical Reactions takes the content and the same non-mathematical approach of the Student Edition, and adds extensive extra subject coverage, detail and over 1800 references. The additional material adds a deeper understanding of the models used, and a includes a broader range of applications and case studies. Providing a complete in-depth reference for a more advanced audience, this edition will find a place on the bookshelves of researchers and advanced students of organic, physical organic and computational chemistry.

From the Back Cover

Molecular orbital theory is used by chemists to describe the arrangement of electrons in chemical structures. It is also a theory capable of giving some insight into the forces involved in the making and breaking of chemical bonds—the chemical reactions that are often the focus of an organic chemist’s interest. Organic chemists with a serious interest in understanding and explaining their work usually express their ideas in molecular orbital terms, so much so that it is now an essential component of every organic chemist’s skills to have some acquaintance with molecular orbital theory.

Molecular Orbitals and Organic Chemical Reactions is both a simplified account of molecular orbital theory and a review of its applications in organic chemistry; it provides a basic introduction to the subject and a wealth of illustrative examples. In this book molecular orbital theory is presented in a much simplified, and entirely non-mathematical language, accessible to every organic chemist, whether student or research worker, whether mathematically competent or not. Topics covered include:

* Molecular Orbital Theory

* Molecular Orbitals and the Structures of Organic Molecules

* Chemical Reactions — How Far and How Fast

* Ionic Reactions — Reactivity

* Ionic Reactions — Stereochemistry

* Pericyclic Reactions

* Radical Reactions

* Photochemical Reactions

This expanded Reference Edition of Molecular Orbitals and Organic Chemical Reactions takes the content and the same non-mathematical approach of the Student Edition, and adds extensive extra coverage, detail and over 1800 references. The additional material adds a deeper understanding of the models used, and includes a broader range of applications and case studies. Providing a complete reference for an advanced audience, this edition will find a place on the bookshelves of researchers and advanced students of organic, physical organic and computational chemistry

Ian Fleming (1935 – present) is an English organic chemist, and an emeritus professor of the University of Cambridge. He was the first to determine the full structure of chlorophyll (in 1967) and was involved in the development of the synthesis of vitamin B12 by Robert Burns Woodward. He has made major contributions to the use of organosilicon compounds for stereospecific syntheses; reactions which have found application in the synthesis of natural compounds. He is also a prolific author, and has written a number of textbooks, encyclopedia chapters and influential review articles.

Life and research

Ian Fleming was born in Staffordshire and grew up in Stourbridge, Worcestershire. He received a B.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1962, both from Pembroke College, Cambridge. His post-doctoral studies were done at Harvard University with R.B. Woodward on the synthesis of vitamin B12. He has made advances in the topic of stereochemistry, developing new synthetic reactions. He has also pioneered the applications of organosilicon chemistry for organic synthesis, especially for the production of chiral molecules, and synthesized the highly stable 8-cycloheptatrienylheptafulvenyl carbocation.

Prof. Fleming has an extensive list of publications, including major contributions to the chemical encyclopedia "Comprehensive Organic Chemistry", and many influential review articles. He has also authored popular undergraduate textbooks on spectroscopic methods of structure determination, organic synthesis, and applications of frontier orbital theory to problems in organic chemistry.