Reagent Friday: Potassium tert-butoxide [KOC(CH3)3]
Potassium tert-Butoxide (KOt-Bu) Is A Bulky Base In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday I profile a different reagent that
Read moreGuest post: “I went from being afraid of tests to actually looking forward to them”.
I love getting letters from people about their experiences with organic chemistry. I love it even more when they share some of the techniques and
Read moreReagent Friday: Sodium Periodate
Sodium Periodate, NaIO4 As A Reagent In Organic Chemistry In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday I profile a different
Read more“Compare Organic Chemistry To A Movie…”
Love this quote, from Organic Chemistry 1 as a Second Language by David R. Klein (fuller review to come) on organic chemistry and memorization. You
Read moreThe SN1, E1, and Alkene Addition Reactions All Pass Through A Carbocation Intermediate
The Carbocation Intermediate That Connects The SN1, E1, And Alkene Addition Reactions Was going to include this in my last post but it was getting
Read moreWittig Reaction
The Wittig Reaction: A Useful Method For Converting Aldehydes and Ketones To Alkenes Some time ago, we learned how to turn alkenes into carbonyls via
Read moreWhat makes a good leaving group?
Good Leaving Groups Are Weak Bases A leaving group (a.k.a. “nucleofuge”) is the new Lewis base that is generated in various substitution and elimination reactions when
Read moreReagent Friday: Sodium (Na)
Sodium Metal (Na) As A Reagent In Organic Chemistry In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday I profile a different
Read more3 Factors That Stabilize Carbocations
Carbocations: Properties, Formation, and Stability Carbocations are electron-deficient species with an empty p-orbital Lacking a full octet and bearing a positive charge, they tend to
Read moreReagent Friday: Raney Nickel
Raney Nickel And The Desulfurization Of Thioacetals + Hydrogenation Of Alkenes (and Alkynes) In a blatant plug for the Reagent Guide and the Reagents App for iPhone, each Friday
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