“There are just so many reactions! I can’t remember all the mechanisms!!” – distressed organic chemistry student Yes, yes there are a lot of reactions, particularly
Read moreToday I’m delighted to announce a new book – Practice Organic Mechanisms, co-written with Dr. Michelle Sulikowski, Senior Lecturer of Organic Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Practice Organic
Read moreLast time we discussed the similarities (and differences) between the carbocation pathway for alkenes and alkynes. In this post, we’ll do the same for the
Read moreHow does the chemistry of alkynes compare to alkenes? As we’ve seen in some previous posts, there are some significant differences, but a lot of
Read moreHow does bromination of alkenes work? In the previous post we showed how the mechanism for bromination of alkenes can’t possibly go through a carbocation
Read moreBetween posts on tautomerism and on lewis acid catalysis, I neglected to mention a really important point in carbonyl chemistry that illustrates another facet of
Read moreWhen learning any new reaction, I think you always have to start with the “what”. What bonds are forming, and what bonds are breaking. After
Read moreToday’s Reaction Friday is about the Friedel Crafts acylation of benzene and other aromatics, an important example of electrophilic aromatic substitution. One thing I forgot
Read moreGrignard reagents are very useful carbon-based nucleophiles and will readily form carbon-carbon bonds with carbonyl compounds. Here the reaction of Grignard reagents with ketones is
Read moreHere’s a handy little trick for accounting for charges when you draw curved arrows. You know by now that curved arrows are our accounting system
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