Basicity of Amines And pKaH
How do you measure the basicity of an amine? Case in point: what’s a stronger base: pyridine or piperidine? If you said piperidine, congratulations – it is
Read moreconjugate acid
Organometallics Are Strong Bases
Last post we talked about how to make certain organometallics, specifically Grignard and organolithium reagents. One thing we saw is that they tend to be
Read moreHow To Make Alcohols More Reactive
In the last post we explored some of the properties and nomenclature of alcohols. We said that alcohols tend to have high boiling points due to hydrogen bonding,
Read moreAlcohols (3) – Acidity and Basicity
In the last post we said that one of the keys to the reactions of alcohols as we go forward is that the conjugate acid is
Read moreComparing the E1 and SN1 Reactions
Imagine you’re starting with the alcohol on the left and you’d like to get to the alkene on the right. What bonds are formed and
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 moreWalkthrough of Acid Base Reactions (2): Basicity
Last time I started writing about acid-base reactions. We looked at this list of stabilities of anions going across the topmost row of the periodic
Read moreFive Key Factors That Influence Acidity
Today we’ll talk about what’s behind the trends in acidity for different molecules and discuss the most important factors that determine these values. I’ve written
Read moreHow to Use a pKa Table
Today we’ll talk about an incredibly important skill that might take some time to grasp but pays tremendous dividends. We’ll go through the exact details of how to use a pKa table. Understanding the proper use of a pKa table will give you the ability to recognize which acid-base reactions will happen and which will not. This will come up a lot as you progress through Org 1 and Org 2. It might be helpful to go back and review some of the factors that affect acidity that were talked about earlier.
Read moreThe pKa Table Is Your Friend
The importance of pKas in organic chemistry can’t be overestimated, in my opinion. Not knowing pKa’s in organic chemistry is like not knowing the value
Read more