Pericyclic or Pseudopericyclic? The Case of an Allylic Transposition in the Synthesis of a Saccharin Derivative.

When new concepts, models, or theories are introduced in a course, their presentation should be accurate, even if depth is not the goal. In a recent publication in this Journal, the Woodward-Hoffmann rules were invoked in the context of a new laboratory experiment, but the associated description was inaccurate. Here we aim to clarify the theoretical background relevant to the described laboratory experiment, and we describe a new computational experiment that could be used to further illuminate the relevant theoretical concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]