Chemical Reactions and Mechanisms
Quantum tunneling allows atoms and molecules to pass through energy barriers rather than over them, and chemists have increasingly recognized that this effect shapes not just hydrogen transfer reactions but also rearrangements involving heavier atoms like carbon and nitrogen. The study of tunneling control examines how, at low temperatures in particular, tunneling can determine which product a reaction produces—sometimes overriding the classical prediction entirely—with nitrenes and carbenes serving as especially informative test cases because their reactive intermediates can be trapped and studied in matrix isolation experiments. Understanding when and how heavy-atom tunneling governs reaction outcomes matters for organic synthesis, where controlling selectivity is paramount, and for astrophysical chemistry, where reactions proceed in cold environments where classical barriers would otherwise halt them. Active work is focused on developing computational methods accurate enough to predict tunneling rates for larger molecules and on designing reactions where tunneling control can be deliberately exploited rather than merely observed.
- Works
- 43,870
- Total citations
- 285,231
- Keywords
- Tunneling ControlChemical ReactionsNitrenesCarbenesPhotochemistryOrganic Synthesis
Top papers in Chemical Reactions and Mechanisms
Ordered by total citation count.
- Modern Molecular Photochemistry↗ 4,925
- Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure↗ 4,040
- Stability of polyatomic molecules in degenerate electronic states - I—Orbital degeneracy↗ 3,173
- Carbonic anhydrases: novel therapeutic applications for inhibitors and activators↗ 3,143
- A simplified synthesis for meso-tetraphenylporphine↗ 2,660
- The Reaction of no With Superoxide↗ 2,121
- Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology.↗ 1,977
- THE REACTION OF ACETYLCHOLINE AND OTHER CARBOXYLIC ACID DERIVATIVES WITH HYDROXYLAMINE, AND ITS ANALYTICAL APPLICATION↗ 1,925OA
- The Carbon Dioxide Hydration Activity of Carbonic Anhydrase↗ 1,893OA
- SYNTHETIC ANALGESICS. II. DITHIENYLBUTENYL- AND DITHIENYLBUTYLAMINES↗ 1,762
- IMOMM: A new integrated <i>ab initio</i> + molecular mechanics geometry optimization scheme of equilibrium structures and transition states↗ 1,709
- A Medicinal Chemist’s Guide to Molecular Interactions↗ 1,694OA
Active researchers
Top authors in this area, ranked by h-index.