Baeyer strain theory
Baeyer strain theory or
strain theory explains specific behaviour of
chemical compounds in terms of bond
angle strain.
It was proposed by
Adolf von Baeyer in 1885 to account for the unusual
chemical reactivity in
ring opening reactions of
cyclopropanes and
cyclobutanes where this angle strain is relieved.
On
ring strain he noted in 1885:
The four valences of the carbon atom act in the directions that connect the center of a sphere with the corners of a tetrahedron and that form an angle of 109 28' with each other. The direction of the attraction can experience a deviation that will, however, cause an increase in strain correlating with the degree of this deviation .
William Henry Perkin was the first chemist to synthesize a cyclopropane ring as a doctoral student in the group of Baeyer. A few years before another student of Baeyer,
Viktor Meyer had doubted whether a three membered ring could exist at all. For a long time Baeyer held the belief that even 6 and 7 membered rings were planar and subjected to ring strain.
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Adolf von Baeyer: Winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1905 Armin de Meijere
Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 44, Issue 48 , Pages 7836 - 7840
2005 Abstract 
