Quantitative resonance-based mechanistic analysis for modern chemical reaction pathways

Traditional arrow-pushing models offer qualitative intuition but lack quantitative rigor for describing electronic rearrangements in chemical reactions. Natural Resonance Theory of Chemical Reaction Mechanisms applies modern NRT methodology, built on the Natural Bond Orbital framework, to derive detailed electronic mechanisms along full reaction pathways using Pauling-type resonance conceptions grounded in first-principles quantum chemical calculations.

The book systematically covers NRT theoretical foundations, computational implementation in programs such as Gaussian, GAMESS, and ORCA, and applications spanning organic, inorganic, radical, and transition-state processes. Readers gain quantitative tools for assessing resonance weights, bond orders, valency, and bond polarity across classic reactions of the synthetic literature.

The book also provides:

• Rigorous methodology for generating idealized Lewis resonance structures from electronic density matrices and calculating their quantitative resonance weights
• Step-by-step computational protocols applicable within widely used electronic structure programs including Gaussian, GAMESS, and ORCA
• Detailed mechanistic analyses of classic organic, inorganic, and radical reactions drawn from the synthetic chemistry literature
• Quantitative measures of bond order, valency, and bond polarity that move beyond qualitative arrow-pushing approximations
• Coverage of transition-state processes and full reaction pathway analysis using Pauling-type resonance conceptions

Researchers and practitioners in chemistry, biochemistry, molecular physics, and pharmacy will find this book an authoritative reference for NRT-based mechanistic analysis. Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students seeking rigorous, quantitative approaches to electronic reaction mechanisms will also benefit from its systematic treatment.

Frank Weinhold, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and pioneer of Natural Bond Orbital theory. A Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the AAAS, he is also a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan and Camille Dreyfus awards.

Eric D. Glendening, PhD, is Professor of Chemistry at Indiana State University, where he served as department chair for over a decade. A leading figure in computational chemistry and co-author of key versions of the NBO software, he is a recipient of Indiana State's President's Medal and multiple teaching awards.