Seeman Jeffrey I
Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, USA.
Chem Rec. 2024 Aug;24(8):e202300181. doi: 10.1002/tcr.202300181.
On May 1, 1965, Roald Hoffmann and R. B. Woodward published their second joint communication, Selection Rules for Concerted Cycloaddition Reactions, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Herein is presented a historical analysis of Woodward and Hoffmann's determination of the mechanism of cycloadditions. This analysis is based on thorough analyses with Roald Hoffmann of his 1964 and 1965 laboratory notebooks and his archived documents and on numerous in-person, video, and email interviews. This historical research pinpoints several seminal moments in chemistry and in the professional career of Hoffmann. For example, now documented is the fact that Woodward and Hoffmann had no anticipation that their collaboration would continue after the publication of their first 1965 communication on electrocyclizations. Also pinpointed is the moment in Hoffmann's professional and intellectual trajectories that he became a full-fledged, equal collaborator with Woodward and Hoffmann's transition from a "calculator" to an "explainer."
1965年5月1日，罗尔德·霍夫曼和R. B. 伍德沃德在美国化学会志上发表了他们的第二篇联合通讯《协同环加成反应的选择规则》。本文对伍德沃德和霍夫曼确定环加成反应机理的过程进行了历史分析。该分析基于与罗尔德·霍夫曼对其1964年和1965年实验室笔记本及存档文件的深入分析，以及多次面对面、视频和电子邮件访谈。这项历史研究指出了化学领域以及霍夫曼职业生涯中的几个关键节点。例如，现已记录在案的事实是，伍德沃德和霍夫曼在1965年发表关于电环化反应的第一篇通讯后，并未预期他们的合作会继续下去。同时也指出了霍夫曼在其职业和学术轨迹中成为与伍德沃德完全平等的合作者的时刻，以及霍夫曼从一个“计算者”到一个“阐释者”的转变。
