Activating and Deactivating Groups In Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
Quick summary on what we’ll talk about today, on activating and deactivating groups in electrophilic aromatic substitution: There’s a lot to this post, so here’s
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Sigma bonds come in six varieties: Pi bonds come in one
You may recall from Gen chem (and no doubt your first week of o-chem as well), that orbitals on carbon come in two flavors: s
Read moreWhat Factors Destabilize Free Radicals?
In the last post we talked about several factors that stabilize free radicals. We saw that since free radicals can be considered electron deficient, any
Read moreMeet the (Most Important) Functional Groups
Functional groups are specific groupings of atoms within molecules that have their own characteristic properties, regardless of the other atoms present in a molecule. Common
Read moreLearning New Reactions: How Do The Electrons Move?
The most important question when learning a new reaction is recognizing “What Bonds Form, What Bonds Break?” If that’s #1, then what’s the second most
Read moreHow (and why) electrons flow
So what is the key “driving force” involved in chemistry? A chemist would say that “opposite charges attract, like charges repel.” But how can we
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 more7 Factors That Stabilize Positive Charge in Organic Chemistry
Just to clarify: make sure you’re familiar with how formal charge can lie before you read this. These factors determine the stability of “true” positive
Read moreCommon Mistakes: Formal Charges Can Mislead
Formal charges have their plusses and minuses. Har har. One one hand, they’re an indispensable accounting tool. If a molecule bears a charge, it would
Read morePartial Charges Give Clues About Electron Flow
There’s a hidden layer of detail beneath chemical structures that students new to organic chemistry often miss. I’m talking about partial charges. Although each of
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