Acyl chlorides are very useful in reactions with organometallics because they can selectively be converted into alcohols or ketones. For example, Grignard reagents will react with acyl chlorides to produce alcohols, while organocuprates (Gilman’s), also known as lithium dialkyl cuprates, … Read more
Acyl chlorides, being the most reactive among carboxylic acid derivatives, undergo a wide variety of nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions. A quick reminder, in a nucleophilic acyl substitution, the leaving group is replaced by a nucleophile by the addition-elimination mechanism: … Read more
Carboxylic acid derivatives practice problems This is a comprehensive practice problem covering most of the nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions of carboxylic acids and their derivatives. Here is the content of this 1-hour video for the practice problem solutions: The detailed … Read more
Acetals are the protecting groups for aldehydes and ketones. They can be used, for example, when a selective reduction of an ester is needed in the presence of an aldehyde or a ketone: Remember, aldehydes are more reactive … Read more
Organic Chemistry Practice Problems can be found after each topic covered in Chemistry Steps. The list of topics can be found here, and below are some examples of what you will find. Refer to this post if you are seeking … Read more
Why do you think the following Grignard reaction is impossible to carry out without having a protecting group on the alcohol? What is even a protecting group? These are the questions we are going to address in today’s article. … Read more
The main difference of the Grignard reaction compared to everything else you learn in the reactions of alcohols is that it is another way of making a new C-C bond and extending the carbon chain of the molecule. The most … Read more
In this post, we will talk about the Grignard reaction – a fundamental reaction in organic chemistry discovered by Victor Grignard in 1912, which gave him the Nobel prize award. The most common and important Grignard reaction is the one … Read more
Preparation of Alcohols from Alkyl Halides Alcohols can be prepared by substitution reactions using hydroxides and substrates with good leaving groups, such as alkyl halides. Primary substrates react by the SN2 mechanism, while tertiary substrates undergo SN1 reactions when strong … Read more
