In this Tutorial Review, we make the point that a true understanding of trends in reactivity (as opposed to measuring or simply computing them) requires a causal reactivity model. To this end, we present and discuss the Activation Strain Model (ASM). The ASM establishes the desired causal relationship between reaction barriers, on one hand, and the properties of reactants and characteristics of reaction mechanisms, on the other hand. In the ASM, the potential energy surface ΔE(ζ) along the reaction coordinate ζ is decomposed into the strain ΔE_strain(ζ) of the reactants that become increasingly deformed as the reaction proceeds, plus the interaction ΔE_int(ζ) between these deformed reactants, i.e., ΔE(ζ) = ΔE_strain(ζ) + ΔE_int(ζ). The ASM can be used in conjunction with any quantum chemical program. An analysis of the method and its application to problems in organic and organometallic chemistry illustrate the power of the ASM as a unifying concept and a tool for rational design of reactants and catalysts.

In this review, we focus on the aromaticity of a particular family of organometallic compounds known as metallabenzenes, which are characterized by the formal replacement of a CH group in benzene by an isolobal transition metal fragment.

In this perspective, different expert opinions are gathered on the definition and concept of aromaticity.

The present review is focused on the application of computational/theoretical methods to the wide and rich chemistry of allenes. Special emphasis is made on the interplay and synergy between experimental and computational methodologies, rather than on recent developments in methods and algorithms. Therefore, this review covers the state-of-the-art applications of computational chemistry to understand and rationalize the bonding situation and vast reactivity of allenes. Thus, the contents of this review span from the most fundamental studies on the equilibrium structure and chirality of allenes to recent advances in the study of complex reaction mechanisms involving allene derivatives in organic and organometallic chemistry.