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The extended Hückel theory applied to single molecules of simple carboxylic acids is able to provide an explanation for the coplanarity of many carboxyl groups with an α‐substituent, which is observed in the crystalline state. Quantitative agreement with experimental rotation barriers is poor, but the shape of the calculated barriers largely agrees with experimental data.
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Bouke P. van Eijck (1966) studied this question.
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