Orbital symmetry in photochemical transformations

Structure and Symmetry

“…The reasons for this are many, not least amongst them being that it offers a foundation for the cognizance of a great deal of chemistry. Indeed it can be argued, for example, that a real understanding of spectroscopy and conrotatory and disrotatory processes in electrocyclic reactions (Brown, 1971, Ellis and JaflK, 1971, Orchin and Ja£f6, 1971, Vollmer and Servis, 1970, Katz, 1971) (Woodward-Hoffman Rules) is only possible through a consideration of molecular symmetry. Therefore, when it was decided to include such a course in the first year undergraduate curriculum of the School of Chemical Sciences thought was given to the research mentioned above.…”