Are these molecules conjugated?
If Org 2 has an overall theme, it’s “resonance”. Today’s post has a very simple message. Atoms with lone pairs, π bonds, radicals, and carbocations can
Read morecarbocations
Introduction to Rearrangement Reactions
The previous four posts on acid-base, substitution, addition, and elimination covered the 4 main reactions in organic chemistry I. Now it’s time to go beyond
Read moreMaking Alkyl Halides From Alcohols
Making Alkyl Halides From Alcohols In today’s post we show that treating alcohols with HCl, HBr, or HI (which all fall under the catch-all term
Read moreA Key Skill: How to Calculate Formal Charge
Hey! Welcome to Master Organic Chemistry, just in case you’re a first time visitor. In this blog post I explain how to calculate formal charge for molecules.
Read moreRearrangements in Alkene Addition Reactions
In exploring reactions that proceed along the carbocation pathway, every once in awhile you might see an example of an addition reaction that looks a
Read moreRearrangement Reactions (2) – Alkyl Shifts
Rearrangement Reactions: Alkyl Shifts In the last post we saw how certain carbocations can sometimes rearrange (through hydride shifts) to give more stable carbocations. However,
Read moreThe SN1 Mechanism
Previously we saw that there are two important classes of nucleophilic substitution reactions, which differ in their rate laws, dependence on substitution pattern, and the
Read moreThe Conjugate Acid Is A Better Leaving Group
One of the key factors that determines whether a nucleophilic substitution reaction will happen or not is the identity of the leaving group. Previously, we’ve
Read moreEvaluating Resonance Forms (4): Positive Charges
As I mentioned before, the resonance form(s) of lowest energy are those where the charges are minimized. However, sometimes you can’t get around it: you
Read moreThe Three Classes of Nucleophiles
I know I’ve said this before, but a whole lot of organic chemistry can be boiled down to “nucleophile attacks electrophile“. A nucleophile is a
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