Quantentheoretische Beiträge zum Benzolproblem I. Die Elektronenkonfiguration des Benzols und verwandter Verbindungen in Zeitschrift für Physik 70, pp. 204-286, 1931

Berlin: Julius Springer, 1931. 1st Edition. 1st EDITION. COMPLETE VOLUME OF HÜCKEL'S FIRST LONG PAPER ON THE QUANTUM MECHANICS OF AROMATIC AND UNSATURATED MOLECULES, TOGETHER CONSITUTING THE HÜCKEL METHOD OR HÜCKEL MOLECULAR ORBITAL METHOD (HMO) & PROVIDING "THE FIRST QUANTUM THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION OF BENZENE" (DSB). The three founders of 20th c. quantum chemistry were Erich Hückel, Friedrich Hund, and Robert S. Mullikan. Hückel studied physics and mathematics in Göttingen and 1929, Bohr suggested that he "should try to apply the modern quantum mechanics to chemical problems, especially the double bonds of carbon. The development of the so-called Hückel molecular orbital theory is regarded as his opus magnum" (Bard, Electrochemical Dictionary 426). Mulliken later referred to the first of Hückel's papers [this paper] as 'monumental'" (Karachalios, Erich Hückel, 77).

As a concept, molecular orbital theory " -- a method for determining molecular structure in which electrons are not assigned to individual bonds between atoms but are treated as moving under the influence of the nuclei in the whole molecule" -- was extendable to large molecules of atoms, but Hückel was the first to do so (Wikipedia). Beginning in 1931 [and with this paper] Erich Hückel developed an approach that could be used for conjugated systems, [meaning] the electron is considered free to travel throughout the length of a conjugated system" (Allen, Biophysical Chemistry, 276).

Here "Hückel gave two descriptions of benzene: his first method, which eventually came to be known as the valence bond method, and a second, which involved the application of molecular orbital methods. Hückel believed that the experimental data gave him good reasons for preferring the second approach, which was utilized by John Lennard-Jones, Hund, and Robert Mulliken. This second approach is widely known as the HMO method (Hückel's molecular orbital method)" (DSB).

At its core, Hückel's molecular orbital method (HMO) is a quantum mechanical concept that gives important insight into the properties of large molecules. It is the first MO theory that could be applied to large molecules and has the advantage of being a theory that can be implemented without the aid of a computer. As well, HMO has been the starting been the starting point for more advanced theories, among them, a very successful theoretical interpretation of electronic spectra of conjugated and aromatic hydrocarbons.

ALSO INCLUDED: Vol. 70 includes a paper by Arno Brasch and Fritz Lange, "Experimentell-technische Vorbereitungen" on employing atmospheric electricity as a high voltage source. CONDITION & DETAILS: Berlin: Julius Springer. Full volume. Ex-libris bearing two small stamps on the rear of the title page and small pocket on rear pastedown. Provenance: Bears the ownership stamp on the blank front flyleaf of Friedrich Hund, a German physicist known for his work on atoms and molecules. (9 x 6.5 inches; 225 x 163mm). [viii], 832pp, [2]. Bound in black cloth over marbled paper boards; very slight rubbing at the edge tips; slight ghosting at the spine from label removal (see photo). Tightly and very solidly bound. Bright and clean inside and out. Near fine.