reduction

Nucleophilic Addition To Carbonyls

Nucleophilic Addition To Carbonyls The most important reaction of the carbonyl group (C=O) is the addition of nucleophiles to the carbonyl carbon, sometimes called, “1,2-addition”.

Reductive Amination

Making Substituted Amines Through Reductive Amination Direct alkylation of amines with alkyl halides is a difficult reaction to control. One alternative that works extremely well

The Wolff-Kishner, Clemmensen, And Other Carbonyl Reductions

The Wolff-Kishner, Clemmensen, and Other Fun Reductions In this post we go through 4 ways of reducing  C=O to CH2 including: The Wolff-Kishner reaction The

Birch Reduction

Birch Reduction of Electron-Rich and Electron-Poor Aromatic Molecules – Examples and Mechanisms The Birch Reduction is a process for converting benzene (and its aromatic relatives)

Organocuprates (Gilman Reagents): How They’re Made

How Gilman Reagents (Organocuprates) Are Made Gilman reagents (organocuprates, often written as “R2CuLi” are not made the same way as Grignard or organolithium reagents. Instead of

Calculating the oxidation state of a carbon

Try applying the rules for calculating oxidation states to carbon.

It’s going to feel a little bit weird. Why? Because there are two key differences.

First, carbon is often more electronegative (2.5) than some of the atoms it’s bound to (such as H, 2.2). So what do you do in this case?
Secondly, unlike metal-metal bonds, carbon-carbon bonds are ubiquitous. So how do you deal with them?

Oxidation and Reduction in Organic Chemistry

Iron smelting!  Photo credit: http://sclowcountryoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/02/iron-smelting-at-acba.html In the beginning, the term actually made sense. When the alchemists and medieval metallurgists started doing experiments to quantify exactly how

Palladium on Carbon (Pd/C) for Catalytic Hydrogenation of Alkenes

Catalytic Hydrogenation of Alkenes With Pd/C (And Friends) Alkenes (and alkynes) will undergo addition of hydrogen (H2) in the presence of a metal catalyst such

Lithium Aluminum Hydride (LiAlH4) For Reduction of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

Lithium Aluminum Hydride (LAH, LiAlH4) For the Reduction of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) is a strong reducing agent similar to, but stronger

Reagent Friday: Raney Nickel

Raney Nickel And The Desulfurization Of Thioacetals + Hydrogenation Of Alkenes (and Alkynes) In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday