Carbon Nucleophiles

So far, we’ve seen a variety of nucleophiles in organic chemistry – halides, hydroxides, alkoxides, thiols, etc. Most of these nucleophiles contain heteroatoms like oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur, but nucleophiles can also be carbon-based, and these are among the most … Read more

Alkynes to Alkenes

Reduction of Alkynes to cis and trans Alkenes

Both alkynes and alkenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons, and this unsaturation is the result of having a π bond in the molecule. One π bond is one degree of unsaturation, as the molecule can add one hydrogen molecule, and two π … Read more

Alkynes to Alcohols

Conversion of Alkynes to Alcohols

When alkynes are reacted with water, aldehydes and ketones are formed. While internal alkynes can only be converted to ketones by acid-catalyzed hydration or oxymercuration-demercuration, terminal alkynes can also be converted to aldehydes via anti-Markovnikov addition of hydroboration-oxidation:     … Read more