Organic Reactions Summary

Study Notes

Organic Reactions - Summary

Sandmeyer's Reaction: Aryl halides can be introduced into benzene rings by reacting benzene diazonium salts with copper(I) halides in the presence of a solvent like CuCl, CuBr.
Gattermann Reaction: Chlorine or bromine can be directly introduced into a benzene ring through diazonium salts. This is done using halogen acids and copper(I) salts.
Balz-Schiemann Reaction: Used to prepare aryl fluorides from diazonium salts using an appropriate reagent. Aryl fluorides are commonly synthesized from diazonium salts.
Finkelstein Reaction: Alkyl iodides can be synthesized from alkyl chlorides or bromides. This reaction utilizes sodium iodide. It can be preferential in the forward direction by precipitation of sodium halide, according to Le Chatelier's Principle.
Swartz Reaction: This reaction involves exchanging the halide of an alkyl or aryl halide with a metallic fluoride, often with silver fluoride.
Wurtz Reaction: Two alkyl halides react with sodium metal in dry ether to yield a longer-chain alkane.
Wurtz-Fittig Reaction: A combination of aryl and alkyl halides with sodium and dry ether. Generates an alkane compound
Fittig Reaction: Two aryl halides react with sodium metal under anhydrous ether conditions to produce a biaryl compound. The resulting product is a dimeric aryl compound.

Additional Reactions

Friedel-Crafts Alkylation: Alkylation of aromatic rings using acyl chloride, alkyl halides and anhydrous aluminum chloride.
Friedel-Crafts Acylation: Acyl chlorides react with aromatic rings in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride.
Reimer-Tiemann Reaction: Phenols are prepared using chloroform and sodium hydroxide under appropriate conditions.
Kolbe Reaction: Electrolysis of sodium salts of carboxylic acids yields alkanes.
Rosenmund Reaction: Preparation of aldehydes from alkyl chlorides or bromides. Uses palladium and hydrogen as catalysts.
Stephen Reaction: A method for converting nitriles into aldehydes via reduction with stannous chloride.
Etard Reaction: Used to introduce a methyl ketone group onto aromatic compounds that already have a substituent group. Utilizes chromium and copper chloride for conversion.
Gattermann-Koch Reaction: Introduction of formyl groups (-CHO) into aromatic rings. Uses carbon monoxide and a copper(I) halide catalyst with anhydrous aluminum chloride.
Clemmensen Reduction: Aldehydes or ketones are reduced into alkanes by using zinc amalgam and concentrated hydrochloric acid.
Wolf-Kishner Reduction: Conversion of aldehydes and ketones into alkanes through the use of a hydrazine and base.
Tollens Test: Detects the presence of aldehydes. A silver mirror appears due to the reaction.
Fehling's Test: A test for aldehydes. A brick-red precipitate forms due to the oxidation reaction.
Aldol Reaction: A reaction wherein aldehyde or ketone undergoes the addition to form a β-hydroxy aldehyde (or ketone) by using base catalyst.
Cannizzaro Reaction: Aldehydes lacking an alpha hydrogen atom undergo self-oxidation and self-reduction under basic conditions.
Kolbe Electrolysis: Reaction used to generate alkanes from carboxylic acid salts via electrolysis.
Volhard-Zelinsky Reaction: Reaction used to introduce halogens (X) at an α position in carboxylic acids with appropriate halogen X2.
Gabriel Phthalimide Synthesis: This synthesis is used to prepare primary amines. Using an appropriate alkyl halide, it forms N-alkyl phthalimide, which is then hydrolyzed to a primary amine.
Hoffmann Bromamide Reaction: Converting amides to primary amines with hydrazine and a base.
Carbylamine Reaction: Preparing isocyanides from primary amines using chloroform and potassium hydroxide.
Hinsberg Test: A test used to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. Using a benzenesulfonyl chloride reagent, this test produces different types of compounds based on the structure of amine.
Coupling Reactions: Benzene diazonium salts can couple with various nucleophiles to form substituted aromatic compounds.