A One‐Step Four‐Bond‐Breaking Reaction Catalyzed by an Electron

Molecular demolition: Long-lived compound states involving a low-energy electron and a molecule generally involve the breaking of only one σ bond in the first elementary reaction step. Using high-level ab initio quantum-chemical methods, four-bond breaking in an elementary reaction step has been identified. Upon electron impact, a bicyclic molecule is shown to break four σ bonds in a concerted and essentially barrierless reaction step, producing three closed-shell neutral molecules.