Book and Media Review pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Review of Computational Organic Chemistry Richard M. Van Doren* Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, University College, Niceville, Florida 32578, United States computational chemistry can and has impacted that particular field. An exceptionally brilliant aspect of this book, found at the end of each chapter, 2−6, is an interview with a prominent chemist who has made a significant contribution to the field covered in the chapter. Ball-and-stick, Lewis structure, or molecular orbital diagrams are numbered in bold face and used throughout the text to make it easy for the reader to find when the text portion of the book discusses their structure or some quantum mechanical aspect of the molecules. When appropriate, bond lengths are included in some of the diagrams. The titles of the seven chapters (Quantum Chemistry, Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry, Pericyclic Reactions, Diradicals and Carbenes, Organic Chemistry of Anions, Solution-Phase Organic Chemistry, and Organic Reaction Dynamics) indicate the breadth and scope of this work. As mentioned above, the ways and means are discussed for each topic along with the do’s and don’ts that work for each computational analysis. When appropriate, data tables emphasizing the different computational methods and basis sets used to generate the data are given along with diagrams illustrating structural features of the molecules under discussion. The index is subcategorized to highlight some of the topics of discussion for each main entry, and the acronyms are listed throughout the index for easy reference. Computational Organic Chemistry by Steven M. Bachrach would be best categorized as a reference book, primarily because there are no exercises or problem sets at the end of each chapter. This is not a light read; however, it is well written and would be an excellent addition to any library.
Computational Organic Chemistry, by Steven M. Bachrach. Wiley Interscience, a John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication: Hoboken, New Jersey, 2007. xviii + pp. IBSN 978-0471713425 (hardcover). $148.00. (Also available as an ebook.) o fully appreciate the impact Computational Organic Chemistry by Steven M. Bachrach will have on your knowledge of organic chemistry, my recommendation is to have had graduate-level courses in quantum chemistry, advanced organic chemistry, physical organic chemistry, and computational chemistry. This book will introduce you to a variety of quantum mechanical descriptions of organic molecules. The approach is from the ab initio and density functional theory perspective rather than a semiempirical one. The front cover illustrates the 1a2 energy state of the phenylnitrene molecule. Section 4.2 of the text discusses the importance of this molecule by stating (p 214), “After reading this section, the reader will appreciate the power of computation and experiment working in concert to fully explicate complicated reaction chemistries.” This statement pretty much sums up the entire theme of the book.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
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Cover image provided by Wiley Interscience, and reproduced with permission.
Several features of each chapter make the book more useful as a reference text. For example, each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights the topics of discussion within the each chapter. In addition, each chapter has a wealth of references to original material. The table of contents lists the main topics and subtopics for an easy scan and direction to the pages of interest. The author discusses the pros and cons of the computational methods that are attempted within each main topic and subtopic, essentially delineating what works and what doesn’t work. Excluding the first chapter, each of the remaining six chapters looks at a particular field of organic chemistry and explains how © 2012 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: March 16, 2012 585
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed300136v | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 585−585
