Author Archive

Olefin Metathesis

Olefin Metathesis

General Characteristics In the presence of a metal alkylidene catalyst, two olefins combine and redistribute their fragments to give a new pair of olefins. Olefin metathesis is fundamentally an ...

Read more
Ether Protective Groups

Ether Protective Groups

General Characteristics Ethers are stable under a wide range of conditions and relatively robust protecting groups. Methyl (Me) and trityl (Tr) groups are commonly used along with benzyl (Bn), ...

Read more
Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) Reaction

Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) Reaction

General Characteristics -The reaction between a phosphonate ylide and an aldehyde, which proceeds via mechanistic path similar to the Wittig reaction to give an α,β-unsaturated ester. -The ...

Read more
Diels-Alder Reaction

Diels-Alder Reaction

General Characteristics -The most classic example of [4+2] cycloaddition reaction in which a diene and a dienophile combine to give a cyclohexene. The reaction generally proceeds with good stereo- ...

Read more
Negishi Cross Coupling Reaction

Negishi Cross Coupling Reaction

General Characteristics -While cross coupling reactions based on organolithium and Grignard reagents (Kumada-Tamao-Corriu cross coupling) tend to suffer from unwanted side reactions when applied to ...

Read more
Swern Oxidation

Swern Oxidation

General Characteristics -The oxidation of alcohols based on the dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-oxalyl chloride system is called the Swern oxidation. -DCC (Pfitzner-Moffatt), TFAA (modified Swern), acetic ...

Read more
Dess-Martin Oxidation

Dess-Martin Oxidation

General Characteristics -The oxidation of alcohols by Dess-Martin periodinane (DMP). -The reaction proceeds at room temperature, converting alcohols into aldehydes. -Reactive and mild enough to be ...

Read more
Mizoroki-Heck Reaction

Mizoroki-Heck Reaction

General Characteristics -The cross coupling reaction between an aryl/alkenyl halide and a terminal olefin in the presence of a Pd(0) catalyst to produce a substituted olefin is called the ...

Read more