What are the Woodward-Hoffmann rules?
Q: What are the Woodward-Hoffmann rules?
A: They are a set of organic chemistry rules that can predict the stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions.
Q: What kind of reactions are pericyclic reactions?
A: They are usually rearrangement reactions where the molecule is a ring, such as a benzene ring.
Q: Who developed the Woodward-Hoffmann rules?
A: The rules were written by Robert Burns Woodward, a chemistry professor at Harvard University, and Roald Hoffmann, a chemistry professor at Cornell University.
Q: Did Woodward share the Nobel Prize for his work on Woodward-Hoffmann rules?
A: No, he did not. He had already died two years before the prize was awarded, and the Nobel Prize is typically only awarded to living people.
Q: Who shared the Nobel Prize with Hoffmann for their work on pericyclic reactions?
A: Kenichi Fukui also received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on a similar model.
Q: What other Nobel Prize did Woodward win?
A: Woodward had previously won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a different discovery.
Q: What recent paper describes how mechanical stress can reshape chemical reaction pathways?
A: A recent paper in the journal Nature describes this phenomenon, where mechanical stress can lead to products that seemingly violate the Woodward-Hoffmann rules.
