Selectivity in Free Radical Reactions: Bromination vs. Chlorination
The Selectivity of Free-Radical Bromination vs Chlorination. A Detailed Answer In last article on radicals (See Article – Selectivity in Free Radical Reactions) we saw
Read moreOrganic Chemistry For the MCAT
Many students taking organic chemistry one day plan to write the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). A common question students have for me is what
Read moreSuccess Stories: How Stu Aced Organic Chemistry
I recently got an email from a reader, Stu (not his real name) who told me he got an A in Organic Chemistry 1, and
Read moreHalogenation At Tiffany’s
Thinking Through The Selectivity of Bromination vs Chlorination: An Intuitive Analogy As we discussed in the last post on radicals, bromine radicals are considerably more
Read moreAllylic Bromination
Allylic Bromination and Benzylic Bromination: What Is It, And How Does It Work? In previous articles on radicals, we’ve seen how bromine (Br2) can selectively
Read moreBonus Topic: Allylic Rearrangements
Allylic Rearrangements – Allylic Bromination With Rearrangement In allylic bromination reactions, the C-H bond of an allylic carbon breaks, and a new C-Br bond is
Read moreHydrohalogenation of Alkenes and Markovnikov’s Rule
Hydrohalogenation of Alkenes and Markovnikov’s Rule When hydrohalic acids (HCl, HBr, HI) are added to alkenes, addition reactions can occur, resulting in formation of a
Read morePartial Reduction of Alkynes With Na/NH3 To Obtain Trans Alkenes
Partial Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes (olefins) With Sodium in Ammonia (Na/NH3) Alkynes can be hydrogenated to alkanes with Pd/C and excess H2, or partially
Read moreAlkyne Hydroboration With “R2BH”
Hydroboration-Oxidation of Alkynes As seen in the previous chapter, hydroboration of alkenes with borane (BH3) followed by oxidation (NaOH, H2O2) gives alcohols with anti-Markovnikov regioselectivity
Read moreHow John Pulled Up His Organic Chemistry Exam Grades
The other week, loyal reader “John” (not his real name) wrote in to tell me how he had pulled up his exam grade in organic
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