ELECTRIC STRUCTURE OF GROUPS OF ISOMERIC HETERO-AROMATIC SYSTEMS .3. HYDROXY-PYRIDINES AND PYRIDONES

A discussion of the electronic structure of hydroxy-pyridines and pyridones shows that there is no reason for the point of view that the 3-oxo isomer, Β-pyridone, does not exist. N-methyl-3-pyridone was prepared and characterized to check this conclusion. The incorrect view is due to the assumption that the electron pairing scheme adopted in the valence bond method is necessarily implied in the classical formulae. This assumption should be replaced by a valence state interpretation of the classical symbols of atoms in molecules, independently of the method chosen for constructing the molecular wave-function. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.