The only way of mastering any topic in Organic Chemistry is doing lots of practice problems. And I know, seeing my students, that starting to work on a practice problem may be the hardest part as you don’t know where to start. It is difficult to visualize what where the double bond would be moved if you follow the five curved arrows crammed in one step. Here is the trick:
We are always told to think before doing something. Fair enough. But let me tell you, it is also strangely enough, that in Organic Chemistry, it is often better to draw and then think about what you did (not in the lab though). It is much easier to have a structure in front of you and check for errors and improvements.
Do the first step, take the pencil and you will see that the ball gets rolling.
You have all these Organic Chemistry Practice Problems waiting to be solved!
Aldehydes and ketones react with alcohols under acidic conditions to form acetals. Acetals are tetrahedral compounds where two alkoxy (OR) groups are bonded to the central carbon atom. The mechanism of the reaction is similar to what we … Read more
Aldehydes and ketones react with water in the presence of an acid or a base, forming a Hydrate – Geminal Diol: The addition of water to most aldehydes and ketones is unfavorable, and the equilibrium is shifted mainly … Read more
In the previous post, we discussed the reduction of carbonyl compounds such as aldehydes, ketones, acids, esters, and acid chlorides, covering the appropriate reducing agents, the step-by-step mechanisms, and key concepts involved in these transformations. This post serves as a … Read more
Aryl diazonium salts can be used as an alternative to the standard electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions for preparing aromatic compounds as well as for synthesizing compounds that cannot be prepared directly from benzene. Before going into the details, here is the summary … Read more
In the previous post, we talked about the orientation effects in EAS when there is more than one substituent on the benzene ring. In short, to predict the substitution site, you need to determine the stronger activator. Using … Read more
In this article, we will discuss the main limitations and undesired pathways in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions and the strategies to overcome them. Friedel-Crafts Reactions The Friedel-Crafts reactions are used for alkylation and acylation of aromatic compounds. Rearrangement … Read more
In this post, we will talk about the ortho-, meta, and para directors in electrophilic aromatic substitution (EAS). As a reminder, the ortho-, meta, and para are the relative positions of the two groups in a disubstituted aromatic ring: … Read more
We have seen, in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction, that rearrangements do not allow for the preparation of primary alkyl benzenes: To overcome this limitation, you can first prepare the corresponding aryl ketone by the Friedel-Crafts acylation and then … Read more
In the previous post, we learned about the Friedel–Crafts alkylation and discussed its mechanism and limitations. In Friedel–Crafts acylation, aromatic compounds are reacted with an acyl halide to prepare an aryl ketone: The electrophile in this reaction is … Read more
In the previous post, we learned about the electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions and went over the mechanisms of halogenation, nitration, and sulfonation of the benzene ring. Following an identical mechanism, two reactions, discovered by Charles Friedel and James Crafts in … Read more
