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Halogen Bonding: An Odd Chemistry?
Author(s) -
Turunen Lotta,
Hansen Jørn H.,
Erdélyi Máté
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the chemical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1528-0691
pISSN - 1527-8999
DOI - 10.1002/tcr.202100060
Subject(s) - flourishing , halogen bond , halogen , chemistry , van der waals force , charge (physics) , interpretation (philosophy) , hero , chemical physics , nanotechnology , crystallography , physics , materials science , quantum mechanics , art , organic chemistry , molecule , philosophy , literature , alkyl , psychology , linguistics , psychotherapist
Halogen bonding is a flourishing field of research, but has for long been little recognized. The same goes for its scientific hero, Odd Hassel, who laid the foundations for all current developments. The crystallographic observation of halogen−oxygen interatomic distances shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii of the involved atoms, and the interpretation of this phenomenon as a charge‐transfer interaction, have been ground‐breaking. Today, charge‐transfer to a polarized halogen is not any longer seen as “odd”, but is commonly referred to as halogen bonding, and is widely exploited in chemistry. Despite the recognition of Hassel's work with a Nobel prize in 1969, surprisingly little appreciation is given to date to the devoted scientist, who established a world‐leading laboratory during one of the darkest eras of history. Herein, we wish to revive the legacy and highlight the impact of Odd Hassel's ground‐breaking discoveries.