A chemical phenomenon where compounds can rapidly convert between two different structural forms in response to electrical effects or in the presence of electrical fields.
From electro- (Greek elektron, 'amber') + tautomerism (Greek tauto-, 'same' + meros, 'part'). The term emerged in organic chemistry to describe electrical effects on molecular rearrangement.
Electrotautomerism explains why some molecules behave differently depending on their electrical environment—it's like they have a 'personality split' that can be triggered by electric fields, which has implications for designing better semiconductors and organic electronics.
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