Writing reaction mechanisms: the use of site-specific curly arrows as an aid to comprehension

Depicting the mechanism, the step-by-step path followed by a reaction, has evolved to also indicate the movement of electrons during each step through the use of curly arrows. The use of conventional curly arrows, as introduced by Robinson in the 1920s, can be ambiguous with regard to regiochemistry...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian journal of chemistry Vol. 95; no. 3; pp. 334 - 339
Main Authors Williams, Richard Vaughan, Shaffer, Alan A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa NRC Research Press 01.03.2017
Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
Subjects
Chemical reactions
Electrons
flèches courbées associées à un site précis
histoire de la chimie
history of chemistry
Methods
Pedagogy
pédagogie
Reaction mechanisms
representing mechanisms
représentation de mécanismes
Scientific literature
site-specific curly arrows
Symbols
Writing
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Summary:Depicting the mechanism, the step-by-step path followed by a reaction, has evolved to also indicate the movement of electrons during each step through the use of curly arrows. The use of conventional curly arrows, as introduced by Robinson in the 1920s, can be ambiguous with regard to regiochemistry. Site-specific curly arrows, a refinement attributed to Woodward, remove this ambiguity. More importantly, our students indicate that they gain greater understanding and a clearer picture of the concepts under discussion through the use of site-specific arrows.
ISSN:0008-4042
1480-3291
DOI:10.1139/cjc-2016-0384