What’s The Alpha Carbon In Carbonyl Compounds?
Alpha Carbon? Beta Carbon? Alpha, Beta Unsaturated Carbonyl? Making it through the chemistry of carbonyl derivatives (ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, esters, and more) there are
Read moreEnolates – Formation, Stability, and Simple Reactions
All about enolates Enolates can be formed through removing the proton on carbons adjacent to a carbonyl (i.e. the “alpha-carbon“). The resulting anions are much
Read moreKinetic Versus Thermodynamic Enolates
Kinetic versus Thermodynamic Enolates of Ketones Enolates have a lot in common with alkenes. They are flat and have a C-C pi bond. Zaitsev’s rule
Read moreAldol Addition and Condensation Reactions
Aldol Addition and Condensation Reactions (Base-Catalyzed) The Aldol Addition reaction is the addition of an enolate to an aldehyde (or ketone). Heating with base can result
Read moreReactions of Enols – Acid-Catalyzed Aldol, Halogenation, and Mannich Reactions
Reactions of Enols – Aldol Condensation, Halogenation, Mannich Reaction In a previous post on keto-enol tautomerism, we described the keto and enol forms. In this
Read moreDegrees of Unsaturation (or IHD, Index of Hydrogen Deficiency)
Degrees of Unsaturation (Index Of Hydrogen Deficiency) The molecular formula of a compound can give clues about its structure. The formula for an alkane follows
Read moreConjugation And Color (+ How Bleach Works)
Conjugation And Color Why are tomatoes red? Why are carrots orange? Why are egg yolks yellow? And… why is Vulcan blood green? OK, I’m not going
Read moreReaction Maps Now Available
The Reaction Map PDF from Master Organic Chemistry (MOC) is a 15-page summary of the key reactions in introductory organic chemistry.
Read moreIntroduction To UV-Vis Spectroscopy
Understanding UV-Vis Spectroscopy Will Make You More Fun At Parties In today’s post we’ll discuss why most molecules are colourless, introduce the useful technique of
Read more350 Examples of Classic Org 1/Org 2 Reactions From “Organic Syntheses”
If you are an instructor and prefer to source your exam questions to the original literature, Organic Syntheses [1] is a great source of classic,
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