Advances in Theoretically Interesting Molecules: A Research Annual, Volume 2 provides information pertinent to the dynamics of cyclooctatetraene ring inversion. This book deals with bridgehead olefins, which helps to shed light on structure-activity relationships for this most basic functional group. Organized into four chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the involvement of planar, delocalized transition states to account for bond shifting in cyclooctatetraenes, which faces explicit problems in rationalizing the universally low energy demands. This text then examines the carbon-carbon double bond, which is the most ubiquitous functional group in organic chemistry. Other chapters consider the condensed polycyclic benzenoid aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which is a subset of the multifarious class of polynuclear aromatics. This book discusses as well the problem of categorizing the molecular structures of PAHs. The final chapter deals with the reactions and synthesis of Dewar furan. This book is a valuable resource for organic chemists.
