…through a free-radical process. (For a primer on free radical chemistry, you might want to check out this introductory article on Free Radical Reactions). Here is an outline of the…
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…to form a new covalent bond. Nucleophilicity is measured by comparing reaction rates; the faster the reaction, the better (or, “stronger”) the nucleophile. Table of Contents Reminder: Nucleophilicity Is Measured…
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…of LiAlH4 such that only the most reactive C=O bonds are reduced. One example is the reagent formed when LiAlH4 is treated with three equivalents of t-butanol to give lithium…
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…this plays out when evaluating resonance structures. It’s probably this first principle which causes the most confusion of all. Let’s look at the “best” and “second-best” resonance forms for these…
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…hopefully it should come as no surprise as we walk through these three examples that the second-best resonance forms are the ones where negative charge ends up on the more…
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…up a tremendous amount on exams. Think of instructors as a bit like baseball pitchers. When it comes to exams, they don’t always groove fastballs down the centre of the…
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…of equal charge, we can determine which is more stable by examining the electronegativity. In the examples above, we can tell that the resonance forms on the left are more…
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…all reagents, LiAlH4 most resembles sodium borohydride. [See article – Sodium borohydride (NaBH4 ) for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones] Hopefully this should not come as a huge shock,…
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…modern computational techniques, we can calculate charge densities extremely well. From these calculations, it’s easy to see where charge is distributed throughout the molecule. For example, ClO- below; oxygen is…
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…The Best Resonance Structure By Applying Electronegativity Drawing Resonance Structures: 3 Common Mistakes To Avoid Evaluating Resonance Structures With Negative Charges Evaluating Resonance Structures With Positive Charge In Summary: Evaluating…
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