Cyclobutane dication, (CH₂)₄²⁺: a model for a two-electron four-center (2e-4c) Woodward–Hoffmann frozen transition state

• G. K. Surya Prakash and
• Golam Rasul

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1475–1479, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.148

• considered as a prototype for a 2e-4c Woodward–Hoffmann frozen transition state. The planar rectangular shaped structure 2 with a 2e-4c bond was found not to be a minimum. Keywords: cyclobutane dication; 2e-4c bond; frozen transition state; Woodward–Hoffmann rule; Introduction The protonated hydrogen

• . Hypercarbon chemistry covers in addition to carbocations also carboranes, carbon-bridged organometallics, carbonyl clusters, along with others. The rapidly evolving field has been extensively surveyed [6]. In comparison, structures of the carbocations involving a two-electron four-center (2e-4c) bond are rare

• . This type of bonding could occur in rigid frameworks such as in 1,3-dehydro-5,7-adamantanediyl dication (iii) [7] and pagodane dication (iv) [8]. The question is can a 2e-4c bond exist in a molecular structure involving four atoms without any rigid frameworks such as in the diprotonated hydrogen (H42