As a general rule any interdisciplinary subject and that includes Computational Theoretical Organic Chemistry (CTOC) incorporates people from the two overlaping areas. In this case the overlaping areas are Computational Theoretical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. Since CTOC is a relatively young science, people continue to shift from their major discipline to this area. At this particular time in history we have to accept in CTOC people who were trained in Computational Theoretical Chemistry and do not know very much about Organic Chemistry, but more often the opposite case is operative Experimental Organic Chemistry who have not been exposed to Computational Theoretical Chemistry. This situation made NATO Advanced Study Institute in the field of CTOC necessary. The inhomogenity outlined above was present in the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held at Menton in July 1980, and to some degree it is noticable from the content of this volume. This book contains 20 contributions. The first contribution is an Introduc tion chapter in which the initiated experimental chemists are briefed about the subject matter. The last chapter describes very briefly the "Computational Laboratory" that was designed to help people with an experimental back ground in order to obtain some first hand experience. Between the first and the last chapters there are 18 contributions. These contributions were arranged in a spectrum from the exclusively method oriented papers to the applications of existing computational methods to problems of interest in Organic Chemistry.

This volume is devoted to the various aspects of theoretical organic chemistry. In the nineteenth century, organic chemistry was primarily an experimental, empirical science. Throughout the twentieth century, the emphasis has been continually shifting to a more theoretical approach. Today, theoretical organic chemistry is a distinct area of research, with strong links to theoretical physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, computational chemistry, and physical organic chemistry.The objective in this volume has been to provide a cross-section of a number of interesting topics in theoretical organic chemistry, starting with a detailed account of the historical development of this discipline and including topics devoted to quantum chemistry, physical properties of organic compounds, their reactivity, their biological activity, and their excited-state properties.

The papers in this volume were presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Porto Novo, Portugal, August 26 - September 8, 1990. The Institute has been able to cover a wide spectrum of the Theoretical and Computational Models for organic molecules and organic reactions, ranging from the ab initio to the more empirical approaches, in the tradition established in the previous Institutes at S. Feliu de Guixols (Spain) and Altinoluk (Turkey). The continuity with this work was achieved by inviting half of the lecturers present in those meetings. But other important subjects were also covered at Porto Novo by new lecturers, both from universities and the industry. Molecular Mechanics, Protein Structure and Unidimensional Models were introduced by the first time. The concept of building on the expertise already acquired and available, both in terms of methods and contents, to develop in new directions, was appreciated by participants and lecturers. The Institute first considered the fundamentals of molecular orbital computations and ab initio methods and the construction of Potential Energy Surfaces. These subjects were further explored in several applications related with optimization of equilibrium geometries and transition structures. Practical examples were studied in Tutorial sessions and solved in the computational projects making use of the Gaussian 88 and Gaussian 90 programs. Empirical models can be complementary to the quantum-mechanical ones in equilibrium geometry optimizations.

This book provides state-of-the-art information on how studies in applied theoretical organic chemistry are conducted. It highlights the many approaches and tools available to those interested in using computational chemistry to predict and rationalize structures and reactivity of organic molecules. Chapters not only describe theoretical techniques in detail, but also describe recent applications and offer practical advice.Authored by many of the world leaders in the field of applied theoretical chemistry, this book is perfect for both practitioners of computational chemistry and synthetic and mechanistic organic chemists curious about applying computational techniques to their research.Related Link(s)

Computational chemistry is a means of applying theoretical ideas using computers and a set of techniques for investigating chemical problems within which common questions vary from molecular geometry to the physical properties of substances. Theory and Applications of Computational Chemistry: The First Forty Years is a collection of articles on the emergence of computational chemistry. It shows the enormous breadth of theoretical and computational chemistry today and establishes how theory and computation have become increasingly linked as methodologies and technologies have advanced. Written by the pioneers in the field, the book presents historical perspectives and insights into the subject, and addresses new and current methods, as well as problems and applications in theoretical and computational chemistry. Easy to read and packed with personal insights, technical and classical information, this book provides the perfect introduction for graduate students beginning research in this area. It also provides very readable and useful reviews for theoretical chemists.* Written by well-known leading experts * Combines history, personal accounts, and theory to explain much of the field of theoretical and compuational chemistry* Is the perfect introduction to the field

A practical introduction to orbital interaction theory and its applications in modern organic chemistry Orbital interaction theory is a conceptual construct that lies at the very heart of modern organic chemistry. Comprising a comprehensive set of principles for explaining chemical reactivity, orbital interaction theory originates in a rigorous theory of electronic structure that also provides the basis for the powerful computational models and techniques with which chemists seek to describe and exploit the structures and thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of molecules. Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry, Second Edition introduces students to the fascinating world of organic chemistry at the mechanistic level with a thoroughly self-contained, well-integrated exposition of orbital interaction theory and its applications in modern organic chemistry. Professor Rauk reviews the concepts of symmetry and orbital theory, and explains reactivity in common functional groups and reactive intermediates in terms of orbital interaction theory. Aided by numerous examples and worked problems, he guides readers through basic chemistry concepts, such as acid and base strength, nucleophilicity, electrophilicity, and thermal stability (in terms of orbital interactions), and describes various computational models for describing those interactions. Updated and expanded, this latest edition of Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry includes a completely new chapter on organometallics, increased coverage of density functional theory, many new application examples, and worked problems. The text is complemented by an interactive computer program that displays orbitals graphically and is available through a link to a Web site. Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry, Second Edition is an excellent text for advanced-level undergraduate and graduate students in organic chemistry. It is also a valuable working resource for professional chemists seeking guidance on interpreting the quantitative data produced by modern computational chemists.

Helps to develop new perspectives and a deeper understanding of organic chemistry Instructors and students alike have praised Perspectives on Structure and Mechanism in Organic Chemistry because it motivates readers to think about organic chemistry in new and exciting ways. Based on the author's first hand classroom experience, the text uses complementary conceptual models to give new perspectives on the structures and reactions of organic compounds. The first five chapters of the text discuss the structure and bonding of stable molecules and reactive intermediates. These are followed by a chapter exploring the methods that organic chemists use to study reaction mechanisms. The remaining chapters examine different types of acid-base, substitution, addition, elimination, pericyclic, and photochemical reactions. This Second Edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to reflect the latest findings in physical organic chemistry. Moreover, this edition features: New references to the latest primary and review literature More study questions to help readers better understand and apply new concepts in organic chemistry Coverage of new topics, including density functional theory, quantum theory of atoms in molecules, Marcus theory, molecular simulations, effect of solvent on organic reactions, asymmetric induction in nucleophilic additions to carbonyl compounds, and dynamic effects on reaction pathways The nearly 400 problems in the text do more than allow students to test their understanding of the concepts presented in each chapter. They also encourage readers to actively review and evaluate the chemical literature and to develop and defend their own ideas. With its emphasis on complementary models and independent problem-solving, this text is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in organic chemistry.

Computational chemistry is increasingly used in most areas of molecular science including organic, inorganic, medicinal, biological, physical, and analytical chemistry. Researchers in these fields who do molecular modelling need to understand and stay current with recent developments. This volume, like those prior to it, features chapters by experts in various fields of computational chemistry. Two chapters focus on molecular docking, one of which relates to drug discovery and cheminformatics and the other to proteomics. In addition, this volume contains tutorials on spin-orbit coupling and cellular automata modeling, as well as an extensive bibliography of computational chemistry books. FROM REVIEWS OF THE SERIES "Reviews in Computational Chemistry remains the most valuable reference to methods and techniques in computational chemistry."—JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR GRAPHICS AND MODELLING "One cannot generally do better than to try to find an appropriate article in the highly successful Reviews in Computational Chemistry. The basic philosophy of the editors seems to be to help the authors produce chapters that are complete, accurate, clear, and accessible to experimentalists (in particular) and other nonspecialists (in general)."—JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

People who attended the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) entitled NEW THEORETICAL CONCEPTS FOR UNDERSTANDING ORGANIC REAC TIONS held at Sant Feliu de Gufxols on the Costa Brava of Spain had a unique experience. They have seen the evolution of the field from qualitative arguments through the generation of Potential Energy Surfaces (PES) to the use of PES in molecular dynamics. The excellent lectures that were dedicated to the various aspects of Potential Energy Surfaces clearly revealed a colossal amount of ma terial that represents our current understanding of the overall problem. It is our hope that the present volume will recreate the excitement in the readers that we all experienced during the meeting in Spain. One can say, without too much exaggeration, that chemistry has become and exercise on potential energy surfaces (PES). Structural (position of the energy minima), spectroscopic (vicinity around the minima), and reactivity (reaction path along the surface) properties may be determined from the analysis of PES. New theoretical tools, together with recent developments in computer technology and programming, have allowed to obtain a better knowledge of these surfaces, and to extract further chemical information from them, so new horizons have been added to Theoretical Organic Chemistry.

That there have been remarkable advances in the field of molecular electronic structure during the last decade is clear not only to those working in the field but also to anyone else who has used quantum chemical results to guide their own investiga tions. The progress in calculating the electronic structures of molecules has occurred through the truly ingenious theoretical and methodological developments that have made computationally tractable the underlying physics of electron distributions around a collection of nuclei. At the same time there has been consider able benefit from the great advances in computer technology. The growing sophistication, declining costs and increasing accessibi lity of computers have let theorists apply their methods to prob lems in virtually all areas of molecular science. Consequently, each year witnesses calculations on larger molecules than in the year before and calculations with greater accuracy and more com plete information on molecular properties. We can surely anticipate continued methodological develop ments of real consequence, and we can also see that the advance in computational capability is not about to slow down. The recent introduction of array processors, mUltiple processors and vector machines has yielded a tremendous acceleration of many types of computation, including operations typically performed in quantum chemical studies. Utilizing such new computing power to the ut most has required some new ideas and some reformulations of existing methods.