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Heavy-Atom Tunneling in Organic Reactions
Claire Castro1, William L Karney1
1Department of Chemistry, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA, 94117, USA.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|January 17, 2020
Summary
Heavy-atom tunneling, particularly carbon tunneling in ground-state reactions, is increasingly studied using experimental and computational methods. This review covers recent advances, including nitrogen and excited-state tunneling, and future research directions.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Chemistry
- Chemical Kinetics
- Reaction Mechanisms
Background:
- Heavy-atom tunneling plays a significant role in various chemical transformations.
- Experimental and computational techniques for detecting and predicting tunneling have advanced.
- Previous research has explored tunneling in pericyclic reactions and π-bond-shifting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent investigations on heavy-atom tunneling in chemical reactions.
- To highlight carbon tunneling in ground-state processes.
- To discuss nitrogen tunneling and the first example of excited-state tunneling.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of experimental studies on heavy-atom tunneling.
- Analysis of computational methods used to predict tunneling phenomena.
- Synthesis of findings on carbon, nitrogen, and excited-state tunneling.
Main Results:
- Significant progress in experimental detection and computational prediction of heavy-atom tunneling.
- Focus on carbon tunneling in ground-state reactions as a key area.
- Emerging studies on nitrogen tunneling and excited-state heavy-atom tunneling.
Conclusions:
- Heavy-atom tunneling is a crucial factor in understanding reaction mechanisms.
- Continued interdisciplinary efforts are needed to explore tunneling's full scope.
- Future research should address limitations and explore new frontiers in tunneling phenomena.
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