Partitioning of π-electrons in rings of aza-derivatives of naphthalene

Abstract

A recently proposed method for calculating the ?-electron contents (EC) of rings of heteroatom-containing polycyclic conjugated molecules was applied to the aza-derivatives of naphthalene. The main finding was that a nitrogen atom in position ? (resp.?) diminishes (resp. increases) the EC-value of the respective ring. Such a regularity in the displacement of ?-electrons can be (qualitatively) rationalized by means of resonance-theoretical reasoning. .