Structure‐Resonance Theory for π‐Hydrocarbon Iron Tricarbonyl Complexes

Abstract

Structure‐resonance theory is applied to transition metal π ligand complexes. This theory leads to specific, quantitative predictions of bond orders, charge distributions in ions, and relative stabilities of ground state species or reaction intermediates. In applications to hydrocarbon systems, numerical results correlate precisely with experimental properties, and with results of LCAO‐MO‐SCF calculations. Initial extensions to iron tricarbonyl derivatives are described herein. A unique advantage of structure‐resonance theory is that it can be applied rapidly by hand calculation, allowing numerous applications with little labor. The orbital basis for describing iron complexes allows one to use graph‐theoretical algorithms to further simplify the theoretical formulism.