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Updated: Oct 23, 2026

Retropinacol/Cross-pinacol Coupling Reactions - A Catalytic Access to 1,2-Unsymmetrical Diols
Published on: April 4, 2014
HOMO-raising catalysis: another manifestation of the Pauli-lowering concept
F Matthias Bickelhaupt1,2, Israel Fernández3
1Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, AIMMS, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, Amsterdam, 1081 HZ, The Netherlands. f.m.bickelhaupt@vu.nl.
Abstract:
Quantum chemical analyses reveal that the rate enhancement in HOMO-raising catalysis originates primarily from a substantial reduction in the Pauli repulsion between the key occupied π molecular orbitals of the reactants, rather than, as widely accepted, from stronger stabilizing orbital interactions.
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