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What Is a Synthesis Reaction? Definition and Examples

A synthesis reaction is one of the four main types of chemical reactions , along with decomposition, single replacement , and double replacement reactions. Here is the synthesis reaction definition, examples of the reaction using elements and compounds, a look at how many reactants are involved, and how to recognize a synthesis reaction.

Synthesis Reaction Definition

A synthesis reaction is a chemical reaction that combines two or more simple elements or compounds to form a more complex product . A + B → AB This type of reaction is also called a direct combination reaction or simply a combination reaction. It’s the type of reaction that forms compounds from their elements. Synthesis reactions also make large molecules from smaller ones. A synthesis reaction is the opposite of a decomposition reaction , which breaks complex molecules into simpler ones.

Synthesis Reaction Examples

There are many examples of synthesis reactions. Some involve elements. In others, an element reacts with a compound. In still other cases, compounds react with other compounds to form larger molecules.

Synthesis Reactions Between Elements

• Iron and sulfur react to form iron sulfide. 8 Fe + S 8  → 8 FeS
• Potassium and chlorine react to form potassium chloride. 2K (s)  + Cl 2(g)  → 2KCl (s)
• Iron and oxygen react to form rust. 4 Fe (s) + 3 O 2  (g) → 2 Fe 2 O 3  (s)
• Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form water. 2 H 2 (g) + O 2 (g) → 2 H 2 O(g)

Synthesis Reactions Between an Element and a Compound

• Carbon monoxide reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. 2 CO(g) + O 2 (g) → 2CO 2 (g)
• Nitric oxide reacts with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide. 2NO + O 2  → 2NO 2
• CH 2 CH 2 (g) + Br 2 (ℓ) → CH 2 BrCH 2 Br

Synthesis Reactions Between Compounds

• Sulfur oxide reacts with water to form sulfuric acid. SO 3  (g) + H 2 O (l) → H 2 SO 4  (aq)
• Calcium oxide reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide. 2CaO (s) + 2H 2 O (l) → 2Ca(OH) 2 (aq)
• Iron oxide and sulfur oxide react to form iron sulfate. Fe 2 O 3  + 3SO 3  → Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3

How Many Reactants Are There?

Usually, there are two reactants in a synthesis reaction. They could be two elements, an element and a compound, or two compounds. However, sometimes more reactants combine to form a product. Here are examples of synthesis reactions involving three reactants:

• Sodium carbonate reacts with water and carbon dioxide to form sodium bicarbonate. Na 2 CO 3  + H 2 O + CO 2 → 2NaHCO 3
• Nitrogen reacts with water and oxygen to form ammonium nitrate. 2N 2 (g) + 4H 2 O(g) + O 2 (g) → 2NH 4 NO 3 (s)

How to Recognize a Synthesis Reaction

The easiest way to recognize a synthesis reaction is to look for a reaction where multiple reactants produce a single product. However, sometimes a synthesis reaction equation includes multiple products and reactants. A good example is the overall reaction for photosynthesis, in which carbon dioxide and water combine to form glucose and oxygen. CO 2  + H 2 O → C 6 H 12 O 6  + O 2 But, even in this case, two simpler molecules react to form a more complex one. So, this is the key in synthesis reaction identification.

Some synthesis reactions form predictable products. If you recognize them, it’s easy to recognize the reaction type:

• Reacting two elements forms a binary compound. For example, hydrogen and oxygen react to form water.
• When two nonmetals react, more than one product is possible. For example, sulfur and oxygen react to form sulfur dioxide or sulfur trioxide.
• Alkali metals react with nonmetals to form ionic compounds. For example, sodium and chlorine form sodium chloride.
• Transition metals react with nonmetals to form more than one possible product. To predict the product, you need to know the oxidation state (charge) or the metallic cation.
• Nonmetal oxides react with water to form acids. For example sulfur dioxide reacts with water to make sulfurous acid.
• Metallic oxides react with water to form bases.
• Nonmetal oxides react with one another to form salts.

Related Posts

9.9 An Introduction to Organic Synthesis

9.9 • An Introduction to Organic Synthesis

As mentioned in the introduction, one of the purposes of this chapter is to use alkyne chemistry as a vehicle to begin looking at some of the general strategies used in organic synthesis—the construction of complex molecules in the laboratory. There are many reasons for carrying out the laboratory synthesis of an organic compound. In the pharmaceutical industry, new molecules are designed and synthesized in the hope that some might be useful new drugs. In the chemical industry, syntheses are done to devise more economical routes to known compounds. In academic laboratories, the synthesis of extremely complex molecules is sometimes done just for the intellectual challenge involved in mastering so difficult a subject. The successful synthesis route is a highly creative work that is sometimes described by such subjective terms as elegant or beautiful .

In this book, too, we will often devise syntheses of molecules from simpler precursors, but the purpose here is to learn. The ability to plan a successful multistep synthetic sequence requires a working knowledge of the uses and limitations of many different organic reactions. Furthermore, it requires the practical ability to piece together the steps in a sequence such that each reaction does only what is desired without causing changes elsewhere in the molecule. Planning a synthesis makes you approach a chemical problem in a logical way, draw on your knowledge of chemical reactions, and organize that knowledge into a workable plan—it helps you learn organic chemistry.

There’s no secret to planning an organic synthesis: all it takes is a knowledge of the different reactions and some practice. The only real trick is to work backward in what is often called a retrosynthetic direction. Don’t look at a potential starting material and ask yourself what reactions it might undergo. Instead, look at the final product and ask, “What was the immediate precursor of that product?” For example, if the final product is an alkyl halide, the immediate precursor might be an alkene, to which you could add HX. If the final product is a cis alkene, the immediate precursor might be an alkyne, which you could hydrogenate using the Lindlar catalyst. Having found an immediate precursor, work backward again, one step at a time, until you get back to the starting material. You have to keep the starting material in mind, of course, so that you can work back to it, but you don’t want that starting material to be your main focus.

Let’s work several examples of increasing complexity.

Worked Example 9.1

Devising a synthesis route.

How would you synthesize cis -2-hexene from 1-pentyne and an alkyl halide? More than one step is needed.

The product in this case is a cis-disubstituted alkene, so the first question is, “What is an immediate precursor of a cis-disubstituted alkene?” We know that an alkene can be prepared from an alkyne by reduction and that the right choice of experimental conditions will allow us to prepare either a trans-disubstituted alkene (using lithium in liquid ammonia) or a cis-disubstituted alkene (using catalytic hydrogenation over the Lindlar catalyst). Thus, reduction of 2-hexyne by catalytic hydrogenation using the Lindlar catalyst should yield cis -2-hexene.

Next ask, “What is an immediate precursor of 2-hexyne?” We’ve seen that an internal alkyne can be prepared by alkylation of a terminal alkyne anion. In the present instance, we’re told to start with 1-pentyne and an alkyl halide. Thus, alkylation of the anion of 1-pentyne with iodomethane should yield 2-hexyne.

Worked Example 9.2

How would you synthesize 2-bromopentane from acetylene and an alkyl halide? More than one step is needed.

What is an immediate precursor of an alkene? Perhaps an alkyne, which could be reduced.

What is an immediate precursor of a terminal alkyne? Perhaps sodium acetylide and an alkyl halide.

The desired product can be synthesized in four steps from acetylene and 1-bromopropane.

Worked Example 9.3

How would you synthesize 5-methyl-1-hexanol (5-methyl-1-hydroxyhexane) from acetylene and an alkyl halide?

What is an immediate precursor of a terminal alkene? Perhaps a terminal alkyne, which could be reduced.

What is an immediate precursor of 5-methyl-1-hexyne? Perhaps acetylene and 1-bromo-3-methylbutane.

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Chapter 7: Alkynes: An Introduction to Organic Synthesis

An introduction to organic synthesis.

After completing this section, you should be able to design a multistep synthesis to prepare a given product from a given starting material, using any of the reactions introduced in the textbook up to this point.

Study Notes

You should have noticed that some of the assigned problems have required that you string together a number of organic reactions to convert one organic compound to another when there is no single reaction to achieve this goal. Such a string of reactions is called an “organic synthesis.” One of the major objectives of this course is to assist you in designing such syntheses. To achieve this objective, you will need to have all of the reactions described in the course available in your memory. You will need to recall some reactions much more frequently than others, and the only way to master this objective is to practise. The examples given in this chapter will be relatively simple, but you will soon see that you can devise some quite sophisticated syntheses using a limited number of basic reactions.

The study of organic chemistry exposes a student to a wide range of interrelated reactions. Alkenes, for example, may be converted to structurally similar alkanes, alcohols, alkyl halides, epoxides, glycols and boranes; cleaved to smaller aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids; and enlarged by carbocation and radical additions as well as cycloadditions. All of these products may be transformed subsequently to a host of new compounds incorporating a wide variety of functional groups, and thereby open to even further elaboration. Consequently, the logical conception of a multistep synthesis for the construction of a designated compound from a specified starting material becomes one of the most challenging problems that may be posed.

A one or two step sequence of simple reactions is not that difficult to deduce. If, for example, one is asked to prepare meso-3,4-hexanediol from 3-hexyne, most students realize it will be necessary to reduce the alkyne to cis or trans-3-hexene before undertaking glycol formation. Permanaganate or osmium tetroxide hydroxylation of cis-3-hexene would form the desired meso isomer. From trans-3-hexene it would be necessary to first epoxidize the alkene with a peracid, followed by ring opening with hydroxide ion. This example illustrates a common feature in synthesis: often there is more than one effective procedure that leads to the desired product .

Longer multistep syntheses require careful analysis and thought, since many options need to be considered. Like an expert chess player evaluating the long range pros and cons of potential moves, the chemist must appraise the potential success of various possible reaction paths, focussing on the scope and limitations constraining each of the individual reactions being employed. This can be a daunting task, the skill for which is acquired by experience, and often trial and error.

The three examples shown below are illustrative. The first is a simple functional group conversion problem, that may initially seem difficult. It is often helpful to work such problems backwards, starting from the product. In this case it should be apparent that cyclohexanol may be substituted for cyclohexanone, since the latter could then be made by a simple oxidation. Also, since cyclohexane (and alkanes in general) is relatively unreactive, bromination (or chlorination) would seem to be an obvious first step. At this point one is tempted to convert bromocyclohexane to cyclohexanol by an S N 2 reaction with hydroxide ion. This reaction would undoubtedly be accompanied by E2 elimination, so it would be cleaner, although one step longer, to first make cyclohexene and then hydrate it by any of several methods (e.g. oxymercuration and hydroboration) including the one shown by clicking on the diagram

Plausible solutions for the second and third problem will also appear above at this point. In problem 2 the desired product has seven carbon atoms and the starting material has four. Clearly, two intermediates derived from the starting compound must be joined together, and one carbon must be lost, either before or after this bonding takes place. The 3º-alcohol function in the product suggests formation by a Grignard addition to a ketone, and isobutene appears to be a good precursor to each of these reactants, as shown. The reactant and product compounds in the third problem are isomers, but some kind of bond-breaking and bond-making sequence is clearly necessary for this structural change to occur. One possible procedure is shown above. Acid-catalyzed rearrangement of cyclohexene oxide, followed by reduction might also serve.

The useful approach of working out syntheses starting from the target molecule and working backward toward simpler starting materials has been formalized by Prof. E. J. Corey (Harvard) and termed retrosynthetic analysis . In this procedure the target molecule is transformed progressively into simpler structures by disconnecting selected carbon-carbon bonds. These disconnections rest on transforms , which are the reverse of plausible synthetic constructions. Each simpler structure, so generated, becomes the starting point for further disconnections, leading to a branched set of interrelated intermediates. A retrosynthetic transform is depicted by the => symbol, as shown below for previous examples 2 & 3. Once a complete analysis has been conducted, the desired synthesis may be carried out by application of the reactions underlying the transforms.

The above diagram does not provide a complete set of transforms for these target compounds. When a starting material is specified, as in the above problems, the proposed pathways must reflect that constraint. Thus the 4-methyl-2-pentanone and 3-methylbutyrate ester options in example 2, while entirely reasonable, do not fit well with a tert -butanol start. Likewise, a cyclopentyl intermediate might provide an excellent route to the product in example 3, but does not meet the specified conditions of the problem.

Retrosynthetic analysis is especially useful when considering relatively complex molecules without starting material constraints. If it is conducted without bias, unusual and intriguing possibilities sometimes appear. Unfortunately, molecular complexity (composed of size, functionality, heteroatom incorporation, cyclic connectivity and stereoisomerism) generally leads to very large and extensively branched transform trees. Computer assisted analysis has proven helpful, but in the end the instincts and experience of the chemist play a critical role in arriving at a successful synthetic plan. Some relatively simple examples, most having starting material restrictions, are provided below.

Starting at 3-hexyne predict synthetic routes to achieve:

A – trans -3-hexene

B – 3,4-dibromohexane

C – 3-hexanol

Starting with acetylene and any alkyl halides propose a synthesis to make (a) pentanal and (b) hexane.

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• Review Article
• Published: 21 March 2022

A practical guide to electrosynthesis

• Matthew C. Leech 1 &
• Kevin Lam   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1481-9212 1  

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume  6 ,  pages 275–286 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Electrochemistry
• Synthetic chemistry methodology

Organic electrosynthesis is an old and rich discipline. By exploiting the cheapest and greenest source of electrons, electricity itself, electrolysis has been shown to be a powerful method to perform redox reactions under mild, safe and green conditions. The field is in the midst of a renaissance and there is little doubt that it will become one of the classic methods to activate small organic molecules in the very near future. Nevertheless, electrosynthesis can be rather daunting for a beginner. In this Review, we will guide synthetic chemists through their first organic and organometallic electrosyntheses by reviewing the essential aspects of the field and by sharing practical tips. We will also cover the fundamentals of electroanalytical techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry, since they are powerful methods to investigate mechanisms. Finally, these concepts will be examined in practice through three case studies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant EP/s017097/1 awarded to K.L. and M.C.L.) and the University of Greenwich for their financial support.

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A chemical species that is not electroactive in the range of the applied potentials being studied, which is added to a solvent medium in order to increase its conductivity, ideally without affecting the electrochemical behaviour of the analyte.

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The electrolyte in the presence of the cathode in an electrochemical cell.

The electrolyte in the presence of the anode in an electrochemical cell.

A measure of the polarity of an organic solvent and its ability to insulate charge.

Also known as IR drop, a potential drop caused by the inherent resistance of the solvent, which can cause shifts in peak potential, reduce observed currents and increase the separation between anodic and cathodic peaks.

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Leech, M.C., Lam, K. A practical guide to electrosynthesis. Nat Rev Chem 6 , 275–286 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00372-y

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The future directions of synthetic chemistry

After being developed over hundred years, synthetic chemistry has created numerous new molecules and new materials to support a better life welfare. Even so, many challenges still remain in synthetic chemistry, higher selectivity, higher efficiency, environmental benign and sustainable energy are never been so wistful before. Herein, several topics surrounded the ability improvement of synthesis and the application enhancement of synthesis will be briefly discussed.

Chemistry is a basic and creative discipline in science, which is highly important for human beings to understand and change the natural world. It plays a central role in scientific community and has brought a deep revolution to our society. As the central topic of chemistry, synthetic chemistry satisfies other disciplines in natural sciences and provides solutions for scientific and technological progress by creating new molecules and new materials. Nowadays, synthetic chemistry integrates with various multi-disciplinary. Along with the continuous increasing needs of new substances, new materials and new devices in the fields of life science, environmental science, material science, energy science, and information science, synthetic chemistry is particularly important for efficiently and accurately providing function-oriented materials.

Synthetic chemistry promotes interdisciplinary integration and breaks boundaries between different disciplines. Back to the history in 1828, Wohler achieved the urea synthesis from inorganic compounds for the first time, which proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds. This typical synthetic chemistry breaks the boundaries between organic and inorganic chemistry. After two hundred years of development, synthetic chemistry has brought a big revolution to the world. More and more drugs, functional materials, and molecules were created to satisfy people’s lives, technology development and social progress. From small to big molecules, from covalent bonding to intermolecular interactions for materials assembly, synthetic chemistry nowadays has achieved a level that has never been achieved before. Thousands of new molecules and new materials are created every day in the world. Even so, many challenges still remain in synthetic chemistry and there is still unlimited room for creativity in synthetic chemistry. Such as the synthetic efficiencies for many important processes still need to be improved. Many synthetic processes are still less friendly to the environment, etc. Just as Prof. Ronald Breslow said: “ Because chemistry is the science that introduces new substances into the world and we have a responsibility for their impact in the world ”. While synthetic chemistry is creating new substances, how to reduce the negative impact on the world as much as possible so as to make the world better is the main theme of synthetic chemistry at present and in the future. Investigating for higher selectivity, higher efficiency, more Eco-friendly and more sustainable process are invariable goals in synthetic chemistry ( Scheme 1 ). Combined with the current trends of synthetic chemistry and the related literature discussion, this article makes a preliminary discussion on the future directions of synthetic chemistry. Several topics in persistently improving the synthetic ability and function-oriented synthesis of synthetic chemistry will be briefly envisioned.

The future of synthetic chemistry.

Ability improvement of synthesis

Reactivity and selectivity are always central concerns in synthetic methodology. Ability improvement of synthesis means to seek for novel synthetic methods with higher reactivity and higher selectivity along with less pollution and less reaction routes. Currently, the freewheeling functional group interconversion (FGI) and the replacement of carbon chain junction still remains many challenges. Novel methods, reagents, technology and concepts are still in high demand in the future. The following topics are some major directions for improving the ability of synthesis.

Selective inert bond transformation

Functional group interconversion relies much on the active functional groups such as carbonyl, unsaturated C–C bonds and C–X bonds, the skeleton of molecules are constructed with inert chemical bonds. Inert chemical bonds including C–H bonds, C–C bonds, etheric C–O bonds and C–N bonds mostly root in organic compounds, the activation of these inert chemical bond highly promote the creativity of organic synthesis and make a breakthrough in functional group interconversion. The main challenges in activation of inert chemical bonds lie in the high bond dissociation energy and poor selectivity, selective C–H bond functionalization and selective C–C bond functionalization are most potential directions in this filed.

Obviously, C–H functionalization is deeply related to synthetic efficiency, as many synthetic targets can be originated from the initial C–H site via multi-step synthesis. The development of direct C–H functionalization has the high potential to shorten synthetic routes. The topic has attracted tremendous efforts in synthetic chemistry. Although it has been developed for decades, the C–H functionalization still remains as a major challenge in organic chemistry due to the natural inert property of most of the C–H bonds. Moreover, how to accurately control the site-selectivity is another major challenge in the C–H transformation. So, new C–H functionalization methodologies are continuously necessary to be explored [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ].

The cleavage of C–C bonds remains a major challenge in organic chemistry due to the high bond dissociation energy (BDE) and the lack of efficient polarization methods [ 6 ]. Compared to the explosive development of C–C bond formations, C–C bond activation has received less attention. While the progress in this area might revolutionize the thoughts of chemists to invent molecule design. In this aspect, the development of novel catalysts is essential for achieve the C–C bond activations. This will be vital for the edit of highly functionalized big molecules. It will also shade light on the refining of crude oil and biomass [ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ].

Elemeto-organic synthesis

The replacement of hydrogen with fluorine, and of carbon with silicon or boron in organic compounds would bring many unexpected physical, biological and medicinal properties for special material developments. Moreover, most of these compounds are man-made which may provide unlimited possibilities for new applications in our daily life. Although organoboron, organosilicon and organofluorine compounds have been more and more investigated in new drugs and new materials discovery, from the longstanding point of view, more efficient and sufficient reagents and methods are highly demanding for the construction of complex elemeto-organic molecules [ 11 ], [ 12 ], [ 13 ].

Catalytic synthesis

Catalytic synthesis contributes a lot in affording functional molecules from raw basic materials, the importance of catalysts are undisputed. Developing more powerful catalysts and catalytic technology to meet the needs of precision synthesis is the future goal in synthetic chemistry. Catalysis is a comprehensive discipline including the design, synthesis, performance, and characterization of catalysts. It is difficult to portray the future direction of catalytic chemistry in this short paragraph vividly. So we discuss herein three appealing directions in catalytic synthesis selectively.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis

We are living in a chiral world. Natural enzymatic synthesis shows us a model for highly efficient and enantioselective catalytic asymmetric synthesis. The close relationship between the synthesis of medicines, pesticides, fine chemicals and material science has shown the importance of chiral synthesis. Catalysis is perhaps one of the most important and promising approaches for chiral synthesis, as one chiral catalyst can synthesize hundred thousands of chiral molecules, which potentially may reach to the level of enzyme catalysis [ 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, the design and synthesis of novel chiral catalysts, the recovery of catalyst, the reduce of catalyst loading, and the development of novel asymmetric reactions are the future directions in this field. Moreover, circularly polarized light (CPL) is an environmentally benign and economic chiral physical force to induce enantioselectivity, which avoids the use of transition metals and expensive ligands. Therefore, CPL will be emerged as one of the promising field in chiral synthesis field [ 16 , 17 ].

Catalytic enzymatic synthesis

Enzymatic catalysis stands for the efficient catalytic reaction with high chemical selectivity and structure specificity, in which biological enzyme is used as catalyst under mild condition. The study of enzymatic catalytic reaction conduces to the knowledge of biochemical reaction and biological activity, the efficient enzymatic catalysis can provide a powerful strategy for specific functional group transformation, some dreamlike reaction such as nitrogen fixation is also flexible. Combining enzymatic synthesis with artificial synthesis or biomimetic synthesis of enzyme catalyst presents attractive ways to catalytic asymmetric synthesis and could make transformation of biomass on large scale. However, finding multitudinous enzymes from plants, animals and microorganisms to satisfy the development of research and application of enzymatic catalysis, improving the thermostability, activity, stereo-, regio- and chemo-selectivities of enzymes via artificial modification, and exploring the mechanism of enzymatic catalysis are highly desirable [ 18 ], [ 19 ], [ 20 ], [ 21 ].

Advanced technology in synthesis

Traditional synthetic chemistry is a process of trial and error with much waste and pollution. Introducing advanced synthetic technology will liberate the synthetic ability, the advanced technology here not only refers to the technology in methodology, science and engineering, but also the advanced concepts and minds including the environmental friendly, intelligentize, interdisciplinary, precision and modularization. These advanced technology arms synthetic chemistry to occupy an anticipant future. In this part, several advanced synthetic technologies will be discussed.

AI in organic synthesis

Currently, dealing with a synthetic problem is generally based on experience of chemists and it usually results in time-consuming task. Instead, along with the increasing power of computer science and the development of big data science, AI will be more and more involved in chemistry. The application of AI for organic synthesis will partially liberate the labor of synthetic chemists [ 22 ]. It will dramatically speed up the optimization of synthetic route design, and new drug discovery. Moreover, AI can also elucidate the reaction mechanism, predict the reaction outcome, and even discover new reactions [ 23 , 24 ].

Electro-/Photo-organic synthesis

Electricity and light are clean energy sources. After being neglected for several decades, electroorganic and photoorganic synthesis exhibits new vitality. The development of technologies to drive organic synthesis by using these energy sources is appealing in future synthetic chemistry. Especially, the usage of electricity to replace stoichiometric amount of oxidant or reductant in redox organic synthesis avoids the generation of undesired side products [ 25 , 26 ]. Moreover, the continuously adjustable current and potential are theoretically ideal for accurate control of chemoselectivity and reaction rate. Photoorganic synthesis has also attracted more and more attentions in synthetic community [ 27 ], [ 28 ], [ 29 ]. As environmentally benign and cost-effective technologies, the electro- and photo- organic synthesis still needs many improvements in new catalyst development, new reaction development, and new synthesis in continuous-flow.

Extreme-condition inorganic synthesis

In the past decades, most inorganic compounds were synthesized under common conditions. Nowadays, the attention has partially been transferred to synthesize new inorganic materials under extreme conditions, as extreme conditions may result in unusual properties of inorganic materials. These extreme conditions mainly includes: high temperature, low temperature, high vacuum, high pressure [ 30 , 31 ]. Usually, these extreme conditions require advanced equipments, which is one of the challenges in this area.

Biological technology in synthesis

Except the computer technology and physical technology, biological technology is also of great value when being used in synthetic chemistry. Biology and chemistry are never closely tied closely like nowadays in producing natural products, biological product. A multistep synthesis in macromolecule may be easy for a biont. Combining synthetic chemistry and biological technology may bring in a burst in molecule creations.

Synthetic biology

Introducing the engineering disciplines, synthetic biology refers to a multidisciplinary field of biological research, it aims at designing and remoulding genes and bioengineer cells to synthesize novel valuable molecules and even creating artificial ecological. There are two research directions in synthetic biology: (1) the fabrication or redesign of natural biological systems; (2) the design and fabrication of biological systems uncharted. Owing to the engineering and modularized synthetic concept, synthetic biology show more potential in produce moleculars especially natural products than traditional chemistry. Drew Endy summarized the direction of synthetic biology on standardization, decoupling and abstraction, which highly promotes the development of synthetic biology. Enormous natural products and devices have been produced and highly utilized in all kinds of fields, such as biological product, functional material, third-generation biorefineries, and living biotherapeutics. The development of synthetic biology could answer for global problem such as human health, energy risk, food crisis [ 32 ], [ 33 ], [ 34 ], [ 35 ].

Bioinorganic synthesis

Bioinorganic is interdisciplinary between inorganic chemistry and biochemistry. The metal center in biological environment and their complex with the coordination of macromolecular ligand are the central topics. Usually, metal complex with certain physiological functions are artificially synthesized, in which the design and synthesis of biomimetic ligands with specific structure and function are the core of this filed. Structure and properties of metalloproteins and metalloenzymes, long-range electron transfer in proteins and nucleic acids are some popular topics in bioinorganic chemistry [ 36 , 37 ].

Application enhancement of synthesis

Facing with the global problem such as energy crisis, food crisis, human health, resource scarcity and environmental pollution, synthetic chemistry has the responsibility to create a sustainable future via its unlimited creativity in providing function-oriented molecules and materials. Therefore, the application enhancement of synthesis is another trend of future synthesis.

Medicinal chemical and material synthesis

The increasing demands of medicine and medicinal or biological material to treat with global major diseases call for synthetic chemistry to provide plentiful medicines and medical materials.

Medicinal chemical synthesis

Drugs, bionics and food safety are the three core issues of human health. Organic chemists isolated and purified substances to obtain the active component from the natural materials. However, the active components in natural products are usually far away from satisfying the increasing need of life care. To this end, Synthetic chemistry satisfies the need by make thousands of molecules and large scales target molecules that can be used in drug discovery. New methodology development for the preparation of bioactive molecules is extremely urgent and challenging [ 38 ], [ 39 ], [ 40 ].

Biomedical polymer material synthesis

As one of the most widely used biomaterials, polymer materials have been successfully applied in diverse medical fields such as medical equipment, artificial organ, and tissue engineering, etc [ 41 ]. They play an important role in improving the quality of life. Due to the critical environment of life system, the development of biomedical polymer materials remains a great challenge. Polymer materials may have the problem of biocompatibility, which may cause potential harm to human body [ 42 ], [ 43 ], [ 44 ], [ 45 ]. Therefore, the design and synthesis of biomedical polymer materials with appropriate properties and controllable degradation will be a major direction in the future.

Self-assembly polymer synthesis

Self-assembly refers to a phenomenon that basic structural units are spontaneous to organize or aggregate into stable structures with certain geometric appearances. Usually, the assembly interactions are based on non-covalent bonds. Self-assembly polymers are widely used in drug delivery materials and nano-functional materials etc . In the future, new usages of self-assembly polymers are expected to be extensively explored, especially in the application of biomedical area [ 46 ]. The development of facile and green methods for the synthesis of self-assembly polymer is highly demanding [ 47 ].

Photoelectric and superconductive material synthesis

The utilization of light, electricity and magnetism provide a stage for modern life, convenient modern lifestyle is established at the cost of environment pollution and resource scarcity. In order to remission those problems, novel photoelectric material and superconductivity material are urgently required.

Organic electronics synthesis

Organic compounds are the basic materials of organic electronics. Organic light emitting diodes (OLED), organic photovoltage (OPV), and organic field effect transistors (OFET) are currently urgent topics in organic electronics field. These technologies have brought big convenience to our daily life. Organic synthesis plays a vital role for the preparation of organic compounds that being used in organic electronics. OLED have already been commercialized. However, transistors, where organic molecules are used to accurately control currents and voltages, are still in development stage [ 48 ], [ 49 ], [ 50 ].

Polymer electronic materials synthesis

Although silicon materials have brought many achievements in electronic field, the pursuit of polymer materials for electronic devices opens up a new window. These organic materials have novel characteristics that cannot be replaced by silicon [ 51 ]. For example, polymer electronics can be made into strong, lightweight products, and be processed at low temperature, giving the opportunity to use various plastic substrates instead of glass [ 52 ]. Polymer electronics are in rapid development in organic electronics field, and the performance of polymer organic electronic devices has been improved significantly in the past decade [ 53 ], [ 54 ], [ 55 ]. The related research in this area will continue to attract more and more attentions.

Perovskite solar cell material synthesis

Environmental pollution and energy risk are the growing global issue. Sustainable clean solar energy is one of the most prominent solutions for the issue. Perovskite is an organic inorganic hybrid material with long charge carrier diffusion length, high charge carrier mobility, better absorption coefficients, and direct band gap, which make the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) the most emerging photovoltaic technology for its super power conversion efficiency [ 56 ], [ 57 ], [ 58 ], [ 59 ]. The research on the synthesis of new PSCs materials with higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) yet lower cost is highly desirable.

Superconductivity material synthesis

Superconductivity refers to the disappearance of resistance of conducting materials under specific conditions. Superconductive materials are widely applied in quantum computer, superconducting dynamo, superconducting transmission, and maglev traffic etc . In the past decades, the most popular field is the development of “high-temperature superconductivity” (HTSC) materials. It is still on the way to find new and potentially commerciable room-temperature superconductive materials [ 60 ]. The synthesis of materials that show superconductivity at room temperature and even high temperature is highly expected in the near future.

Porous material synthesis

The functionality of materials depends on their inherent structure. Periodic porous material always shows amazing functionality in micro-molecule usage and catalyst. Metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks are two potential directions in porous material.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) synthesis

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a kind of crystalline materials with periodic network structure that consist of coordination bonds between transition metals and polydentate bridging organic ligands. Owing to the open and porous framework structure of MOFs, numerous potential applications are still under development. Due to their high surface area and great structural diversity, one of the potential applications of MOFs is the storage and separations of small molecules such as H 2 , CO 2 and H 2 O etc . MOFs also involve in the heterogeneous catalysis and drug delivery [ 61 ], [ 62 ], [ 63 ], [ 64 ], [ 65 ].

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) synthesis

Similar to MOFs, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are periodic porous crystalline polymers, in which the organic building units are linked together by covalent bonds. By introducing diverse functional group into the organic building blocks, COFs can be widely used in gas adsorption and storage such as H 2 , CO 2 , CH 4 and NH 3 . COFs can be also used in heterogeneous catalysis. Diverse organic building blocks bring up the highly tunable structure and adjustable pore sizes of COFs. The synthesis of specific structure and skeletons of multifunctional COFs are the core issues for the development of COFs [ 66 ], [ 67 ], [ 68 ].

Eco-friendly polymer synthesis

Polymers are most-widely used man-made materials in the world, broad applications and convenience in mass industrial production make polymer material especially plastic overused, the manufacture and usage of polymer material bring in pollution, plastic pollution is a big trouble nowadays. Polymer chemists shoulder a critical mission in developing environmental-friendly polymer material.

Biodegradable plastic synthesis

The ideal biodegradable plastic is a polymer material that has excellent performance and can be completely decomposed by environmental microorganisms after being discarded. As a result, it becomes an integral part of the carbon cycle in nature [ 69 , 70 ]. It is undeniable that the development of degradable plastics is conducive to reduce the impact of plastic pollution on the environment. In order to formulate better standards for degradable plastics, the basic mechanism of the degradation process needs to be deeply investigated [ 71 ].

New sustainable plastics synthesis

Sustainable plastics are always appealing for the invention of plastics materials [ 72 ]. In the past century, plastics have provided great convenience to us and make our life better and better. Meanwhile, plastics also bring us polymer wastes that have impact on environment. Therefore, the development of more and more sustainable plastics that have outstanding performance and provide options for recycling is highly desirable [ 69 , 73 , 74 ].

Precision polymer synthesis

Along with the increasing demands, precision polymer synthesis attracted the attention of synthetic chemists. To obtain accurate length polymers or stereospecific polymers is still problematic for precision polymer synthesis [ 75 ]. Learning from the precise control of molecular structure of organism will be a vital method to achieve the goal [ 76 ]. In addition, the synthesis of biopolymer is challenging yet shows highly commercial prospect [ 77 ].

In summary, the future of synthetic chemistry including organic synthesis, inorganic synthesis and polymer synthesis was briefly summarized as Ability Improvement of Synthesis and Application Enhancement of Synthesis , based on these two topics, several future directions in synthetic chemistry are briefly discussed. Along with the continuous development of synthetic chemistry, the ability of human beings to understand and change the world continues to improve, so as to keep improving the life welfare on the planet.

Article note

A collection of invited papers on Emerging Technologies and New Directions in Chemistry Research.

Funding source: Chinese Chemical Society http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100015635

Award Identifier / Grant number: YESS20170217

Acknowledgments

This work is a part of “IUPAC organizational structure review” for the “future direction of chemistry survey”. We thank Prof. Kuiling Ding for valuable comments. We thank Prof. Zhigang Shuai, Prof. Xiaoxin Zou, and Prof. Shanshan Lv for helpful discussion. We thank Dr. Lu Wang, Dr. Yue Hu, Dr. Wei Sun, Dr. Dunfa Shi, and Mr. Du Chen for their efforts on reference collection.

Research funding: This work was funded by the Chinese Chemical Society through the “Young Elite Scientist Lift-Up” (Grant No. YESS20170217).

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Synthesis is the production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials. The construction of complex and defined new molecules is a challenging and complicated undertaking, and one that requires the constant development of new reactions, catalysts and techniques.

Synthesis projects underpin developments in a very wide range of areas. This makes chemical synthesis a unique and enabling science; it means that the design of new molecules can be put into practice so that the target compounds can be made and tested for interesting properties or activity. 

Areas in which synthesis is essential

Catalysts Catalysis is critical to a very wide range of industrial processes, encompassing both bulk and fine chemical manufacture.  The rational design, synthesis and optimization of catalyst systems is therefore crucial to the development of more efficient, selective and environmentally tolerant processes.  Research in this area is focussed on both metal-containing and metal-free systems, and targets not only better catalysts for existing processes but also entirely new catalytic transformations.

Medicine and drug discovery The development of new pharmaceutical products is an extremely important aspect of organic synthesis.  This undertaking enables the discovery and optimisation of complex molecules with potent and selective biological activity.  An understanding of synthetic chemistry allows balancing of chemical properties so that the molecules behave as desired in cells and patients.  New reaction development is another essential facet of this work, because it opens up previously inaccessible routes to new compounds.

New materials The preparation of functional materials with custom-designed properties (e.g. electronic, optical, magnetic) is fundamental to breakthroughs in areas such as batteries, solar cell development, superconductors, smart materials etc., which hold much promise for future technologies.  Oxford has a long-established track record in this area, with the fundamental synthetic work underpinning lithium ion battery technology having been carried out in the Department.

Chemical biology The synthesis of molecules that are designed to interact with and probe biological systems is very useful for investigating and understanding the processes involved in living systems.  Such compounds allow us to understand fundamental biological processes more clearly, and to aid drug discovery through effective target validation.

Natural products The history of medicines, flavourings and agrochemicals illustrates the central importance of natural products.  Synthetic chemistry is very useful in mimicking Nature and allowing us to prepare complex molecules that are produced naturally but without disrupting the source itself.  Such natural products, and analogues thereof, have myriad uses as drugs, flavourings and agrochemicals.

Imaging Synthetic dyes and probes have been extremely important in recent developments in imaging, which means that more powerful and less intrusive techniques can be used in the search for diseased or damaged tissue.

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Various Flavone Types: A Study of Synthesis Approaches and Their Antioxidant Properties (A Review)

• Published: 26 January 2024
• Volume 93 , pages 3188–3199, ( 2023 )

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• R. B. Nadr   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3294-0895 1 ,
• B. S. Abdulrahman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5522-770X 1 &
• R. A. Omer   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3774-6071 1  

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This review encompasses fundamental information on flavonoids, with a specific focus on flavones and their derivatives, gathered from publicly available research on the internet. The research includes investigations into their preparation methods, reactions, applications, and crucial medical benefits. Our findings reveal that flavones constitute a significant subset within the broader flavonoid family, characterized by the structural framework of 2-phenylchromen-4-one. Furthermore, flavones exhibit diverse biological activities and can be found in various combinations in plant-derived compounds such as anthoxanthins, epigenist, flavones, and quercetins.

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R. B. Nadr, B. S. Abdulrahman & R. A. Omer

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Nadr, R.B., Abdulrahman, B.S. & Omer, R.A. Various Flavone Types: A Study of Synthesis Approaches and Their Antioxidant Properties (A Review). Russ J Gen Chem 93 , 3188–3199 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1070363223120198

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Received : 20 October 2023

Revised : 16 November 2023

Accepted : 24 November 2023

Published : 26 January 2024

Issue Date : December 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1134/S1070363223120198

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Organic Chemistry

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• Page ID 25123

Organic chemistry studies the structure, properties and reactions of organic compounds, which contain carbon in covalent bonding. The study of structure determines their chemical composition and formula and the study of properties includes physical and chemical properties, and evaluation of chemical reactivity to understand their behavior. The study of organic reactions includes the chemical synthesis of natural products, drugs, and polymers, and study of individual organic molecules in the laboratory and via theoretical (in silico) study.

• Acid Halides
• Aldehydes and Ketones
• Alkyl Halides
• Aryl Halides
• Carbohydrates
• Carboxylic Acids
• Conjugation
• Fundamentals
• Hydrocarbons
• Organo-phosphorus Compounds
• Phenylamine and Diazonium Compounds
• Thiols and Sulfides
• Spectroscopy

• Front Matter
• Chapter 1: Structure and Bonding
• Chapter 2: Polar Covalent Bonds; Acids and Bases
• Chapter 3: Organic Compounds- Alkanes and Their Stereochemistry
• Chapter 4: Organic Compounds - Cycloalkanes and their Stereochemistry
• Chapter 5: Stereochemistry at Tetrahedral Centers
• Chapter 6: An Overview of Organic Reactions
• Chapter 7: Alkenes- Structure and Reactivity
• Chapter 8: Alkenes- Reactions and Synthesis
• Chapter 9: Alkynes - An Introduction to Organic Synthesis
• Chapter 10: Organohalides
• Chapter 11: Reactions of Alkyl Halides- Nucleophilic Substitutions and Eliminations
• Chapter 12: Structure Determination - Mass Spectrometry and Infrared Spectroscopy
• Chapter 13: Structure Determination - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
• Chapter 14: Conjugated Compounds and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy
• Chapter 15: Benzene and Aromaticity
• Chapter 16: Chemistry of Benzene - Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
• Chapter 17: Alcohols and Phenols
• Chapter 18: Ethers and Epoxides; Thiols and Sulfides
• Chapter 19: Aldehydes and Ketones- Nucleophilic Addition Reactions
• Chapter 20: Carboxylic Acids and Nitriles
• Chapter 21: Carboxylic Acid Derivatives- Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution Reactions
• Chapter 22: Carbonyl Alpha-Substitution Reactions
• Chapter 23: Carbonyl Condensation Reactions
• Chapter 24: Amines and Heterocycles
• Chapter 25: Biomolecules- Carbohydrates
• Chapter 26: Biomolecules- Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• Chapter 27: Biomolecules - Lipids
• Chapter 28: Biomolecules - Nucleic Acids
• Chapter 29: The Organic Chemistry of Metabolic Pathways
• Chapter 30: Orbitals and Organic Chemistry - Pericyclic Reactions
• Chapter 31: Synthetic Polymers
• Chapter 32: Appendix
• Back Matter

• 1: Structure and Bonding
• 2: Polar Covalent Bonds; Acids and Bases
• 3: Organic Compounds- Alkanes and Their Stereochemistry
• 4: Organic Compounds - Cycloalkanes and their Stereochemistry
• 5: Stereochemistry at Tetrahedral Centers
• 6: An Overview of Organic Reactions
• 7: Alkenes- Structure and Reactivity
• 8: Alkenes - Reactions and Synthesis
• 9: Alkynes - An Introduction to Organic Synthesis
• 10: Organohalides
• 11: Reactions of Alkyl Halides- Nucleophilic Substitutions and Eliminations
• 12: Structure Determination - Mass Spectrometry and Infrared Spectroscopy
• 13: Structure Determination - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
• 14: Conjugated Compounds and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy
• 15: Benzene and Aromaticity
• 16: Chemistry of Benzene - Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
• 17: Alcohols and Phenols
• 18: Ethers and Epoxides; Thiols and Sulfides
• 19: Aldehydes and Ketones- Nucleophilic Addition Reactions
• 20: Carboxylic Acids and Nitriles
• 21: Carboxylic Acid Derivatives- Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution Reactions
• 22: Carbonyl Alpha-Substitution Reactions
• 23: Carbonyl Condensation Reactions
• 24: Amines and Heterocycles
• 25: Biomolecules- Carbohydrates
• 26: Biomolecules- Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• 27: Biomolecules - Lipids
• 28: Biomolecules - Nucleic Acids
• 29: Orbitals and Organic Chemistry - Pericyclic Reactions
• 30: Synthetic Polymers

• 1: Introduction to Organic Structure and Bonding I
• 2: Introduction to Organic Structure and Bonding II
• 3: Conformations and Stereochemistry
• 4: Structure Determination I- UV-Vis and Infrared Spectroscopy, Mass Spectrometry
• 5: Structure Determination II - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
• 6: Overview of Organic Reactivity
• 7: Acid-base Reactions
• 8: Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions
• 9: Phosphate Transfer Reactions
• 10: Nucleophilic Carbonyl Addition Reactions
• 11: Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution Reactions
• 12: Reactions at the α-Carbon, Part I
• 13: Reactions at the α-Carbon, Part II
• INTERCHAPTER: Retrosynthetic analysis and metabolic pathway prediction
• 14: Electrophilic Reactions
• 15: Oxidation and Reduction Reactions
• 16: Radical Reactions
• 17: The Organic Chemistry of Vitamins
• Appendix I: Index of enzymatic reactions by pathway
• Appendix II: Review of laboratory synthesis reactions

• 1: General Techniques
• 2: Chromatography
• 3: Crystallization
• 4: Extraction
• 5: Distillation
• 6: Miscellaneous Techniques
• 7: Technique Summaries

• 1: Introduction to Organic Chemistry
• 2: Structural Organic Chemistry
• 3: Organic Nomenclature
• 5: Stereoisomerism of Organic Molecules
• 6: Bonding in Organic Molecules
• 7: Other Compounds than Hydrocarbons
• 8: Nucleophilic Substitution and Elimination Reactions
• 9: Separation, Purification, and Identification of Organic Compounds
• 10: Alkenes and Alkynes I - Ionic and Radical Addition Reactions
• 11: Alkenes and Alkynes II - Oxidation and Reduction Reactions. Acidity of Alkynes
• 12: Cycloalkanes, Cycloalkenes and Cycloalkynes
• 13: Polyfunctional Compounds, Alkadienes, and Approaches to Organic Synthesis
• 14: Organohalogen and Organometallic Compounds
• 15: Alcohols and Ethers
• 16: Carbonyl Compounds I- Aldehydes and Ketones. Addition Reactions of the Carbonyl Group
• 17: Carbonyl Compounds II- Enols and Enolate Anions. Unsaturated and Polycarbonyl Compounds
• 18: Carboxylic Acids and Their Derivatives
• 19: More on Stereochemistry
• 20: Carbohydrates
• 21: Resonance and Molecular Orbital Methods
• 22: Arenes, Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
• 23: Organonitrogen Compounds I - Amines
• 24: Organonitrogen Compounds II - Amides, Nitriles, and Nitro Compounds
• 25: Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• 26: More on Aromatic Compounds
• 27: More about Spectroscopy
• 28: Photochemistry
• 29: Polymers
• 30: Natural Products and Biosynthesis
• 31: Transition Metal Organic Compounds

• 1: Chapters

• 1: HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT
• 2: COMMON ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
• 3: GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY - CHEMICAL HANDLING WASHING, WASTE AND SAFETY
• 4: HOW TO SURVIVE AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT
• 5: HOW TO INTERPRET YOUR RESULTS
• 6: HOW TO WRITE A REPORT

• 2: Intermolecular Forces
• 3: Chemical Reactivity
• 4: Aromaticity
• 5: Nomenclature
• 6: Stereoisomers Part I
• 7: Stereoisomers Part II
• 10: Alkynes
• 11: Alkyl Halides
• 12: Alcohols
• 14: Thiols and Sulfides
• 15: Benzene and Derivatives
• 17: Phosphines
• 18: Aldehydes and Ketones
• 19: Carboxylic Acids
• 20: Carboxylic Derivatives
• 21: Spectroscopy
• 22: Biochemicals
• 23: Free Radicals
• 24: Heterocycles
• 25: Macromolecules
• 26: Organometallic Chemistry
• 27: Pericyclic Reactions
• 29: Anionic Rearrangements
• 30: Cationic Rearrangements
• 31: Introduction to Synthesis
• 32: Exercises

• 1: Basic Concepts in Chemical Bonding and Organic Molecules
• 2: Fundamental of Organic Structures
• 3: Acids and Bases- Organic Reaction Mechanism Introduction
• 4: Conformations of Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
• 5: Stereochemistry
• 6: Structural Identification of Organic Compounds- IR and NMR Spectroscopy
• 7: Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions
• 8: Elimination Reactions
• 9: Free Radical Substitution Reaction of Alkanes
• 10: Alkenes and Alkynes

• 1: Electronic Structure and Bonding (Acids and Bases)
• 2: An Introduction to Organic Compounds- Nomenclature, Physical Properties, and Representation of Structure
• 3: Alkenes- Structure, Nomenclature, and an Introduction to Reactivity • Thermodynamics and Kinetics
• 4: The Reactions of Alkenes
• 5: Stereochemistry- The Arrangement of Atoms in Space; The Stereochemistry of Addition Reactions
• 6: The Reactions of Alkynes- An Introduction to Multistep Synthesis
• 7: Delocalized Electrons and Their Effect on Stability, Reactivity, and pKa (More About Molecular Orbital Theory)
• 8: Substitution Reactions of Alkyl Halides
• 9: Elimination Reactions of Alkyl Halides (Competition between Substitution and Elimination)
• 10: Reactions of Alcohols, Ethers, Epoxides, Amine, and Sulfur- Containing Compounds
• 11: Organometallic Compounds
• 12: Radicals (Reactions of Alkanes)
• 13: Mass Spectrometry, Infrared Spectroscopy, and Ultraviolet/Visible Spectroscopy
• 14: NMR Spectroscopy
• 15: Aromaticity (Reactions of Benzene)
• 16: Reactions of Substituted Benzenes
• 17: Carbonyl Compounds I- Reactions of Carboxylic Acids and Carboxylic Derivatives
• 18: Carbonyl Compounds II- Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones • More Reactions of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives • Reactions of α, β- Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds
• 19: Carbonyl Compounds III- Reactions at the α- Carbon
• 20: More About Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
• 21: More About Amines (Heterocylic Compounds)
• 22: The Organic Chemistry of Carbohydrates
• 23: The Organic Chemistry of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• 24: Catalysis
• 25: Compounds Derived from Vitamins
• 26: The Organic Chemistry of Metabolic Pathways
• 27: The Organic Chemistry of Lipids
• 28: The Chemistry of Nucleic Acids
• 29: Synthetic Polymers
• 30: Pericyclic Reactions
• 31: The Organic Chemistry of Drugs- Discovery and Design

• 1: Electronic Structure and Covalent Bonding
• 2: Acids and Bases
• 3: An Introduction to Organic Compounds: Nomenclature, Physical Properties, and Representation of Structure
• 4: Alkenes: Structure, Nomenclature, and an Introduction to Reactivity
• 5: The Reactions of Alkenes and Alkynes: An Introduction to Multistep Synthesis
• 6: Isomers and Stereochemistry
• 7: Delocalized Electrons and Their Effect on Stability, Reactivity, and pKa (Ultraviolet and Visible Spectroscopy)
• 8: Aromaticity: Reactions of Benzene and Substituted Benzenes
• 9: Substitution and Elimination Reactions of Alkyl Halides
• 10: Reactions of Alcohols, Amines, Ethers, and Epoxides
• 11: Carbonyl Compounds I: Reactions of Carboxylic Acids and Carboxylic Derivatives
• 12: Carbonyl Compounds II: Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones • More Reactions of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
• 13: Carbonyl Compounds III: Reactions at the α- Carbon
• 14: Determing the Structure of Organic Compounds
• 15: The Organic Chemistry of Carbohydrates
• 16: The Organic Chemistry of Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• 17: How Enzymes Catalyze Reactions The Organic Chemisty of Vitamins
• 18: The Organic Chemistry of Metabolic Pathways
• 19: The Organic Chemistry of Lipids
• 20: The Chemistry of Nucleic Acids
• 21: The Organic Chemistry of Drugs: Discovery and Design

• 1: Structure and Bonding in Organic Molecules
• 2: Structure and Reactivity: Acids and Bases, Polar and Nonpolar Molecules
• 3: Reactions of Alkanes: Bond-Dissociation Energies, Radical Halogenation, and Relative Reactivity
• 4: Cycloalkanes
• 5: Stereoisomers
• 6: Bimolecular Nucleophilic Substitution in Haloalkanes
• 7: Further Reactions of Haloalkanes: Unimolecular Substitution and Pathways of Elimination
• 8: Hydroxy of Functional Group: Alcohols: Properties, Preparation, and Strategy of Synthesis
• 9: Further Reactions of Alcohols and the Chemistry of Ethers
• 10: Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Deduce Structure
• 11: Alkenes: Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry
• 12: Reactions to Alkenes
• 13: Alkynes: The Carbon
• 14: Delocalized Pi Systems: Investigation by Ultraviolet and Visible Spectroscopy
• 15: Benzene and Aromaticity: Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
• 16: Electrophilic Attack on Derivatives of Benzene: Substituents Control Regioselectivity
• 17: Aldehydes and Ketones - The Carbonyl Group
• 18: Enols, Enolates, and the Aldol Condensation: a,b-Unsaturated Aldehydes and Ketones
• 20: Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
• 21: Amines and Their Derivatives
• 22: Chemistry of the Benzene Substituents: Alkylbenzenes, Phenols, and Benzenamines
• 23: Ester Enolates and the Claisen Condensation
• 24: Carbohydrates: Polyfunctional Compounds in Nature
• 25: Heterocycles: Heteroatoms in Cyclic Organic Compounds
• 26: Amino Acids, Peptides, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids: Nitrogen-Containing Polymers in Nature

• 3: Introduction to Organic Molecules and Functional Groups
• 6: Understanding Organic Reactions
• 7: Alkyl Halides and Nucleophilic Substitution
• 8: Alkyl Halides and Elimination Reactions
• 9: Alcohols, Ethers, and Epoxides
• 10: Alkenes
• 11: Alkynes
• 12: Oxidation and Reduction
• 13: Radical Reactions
• 14: Conjugation, Resonance, and Dienes
• 15: Benzene and Aromatic Compounds
• 16: Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
• 17: Carboxylic Acids and the Acidity of the O–H Bond
• 18: Introduction to Carbonyl Chemistry; Organometallic Reagents; Oxidation and Reduction
• 19: Aldehydes and Ketones—Nucleophilic Addition
• 20: Carboxylic Acids and Their Derivatives— Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution
• 21: Substitution Reactions of Carbonyl Compounds at the Alpha Carbon
• 22: Carbonyl Condensation Reactions
• 24: Synthetic Polymers

• 1: Synthesis of Organic Molecules
• 2: Rules and Guidelines Governing Organic Synthesis
• 3: Criteria for Selection of the Synthetic Route
• 4: The Logic of Synthesis
• 5: Strategies in Disparlure Synthesis
• 6: Strategies in (-)-Menthol Synthesis
• 7: Strategies in Longifolene Synthesis
• 8: Strategies in Cedrene Synthesis
• 9: Strategies in Reserpine Synthesis
• 10: Strategies in Prostaglandins Synthesis
• 11: Strategies in Steroids Synthesis
• 12: Woodward’s Synthesis of Chlorophyll
• 13: Synthesis of Vitamin B₁₂
• 14: Green Chemistry - Protection-Free Organic Synthesis

• 1: Some Principles of Synthetic Planning
• 2: Sugars - Biosynthetic Starting Materials
• 3: Fatty Acids and Prostaglandins
• 4: Terpenes
• 5: Polyketides
• 6: Amino Acids and Alkaloids

• 1: Reactions using Chiral Lewis Acids and Brønsted Acid
• 2: Asymmetric Carbon-Carbon Bond Forming Reactions
• 3: Synthesis via C-H Activation
• 4: Carbon-Heteroatom Bond-Forming Reactions
• 5: Oxidation Reactions
• 6: Hydrogenation Reactions
• 7: Reactions in Nonconventional Conditions
• 8: Asymmetric Hydrosilylation and Related Reactions
• 9: Carbonylation Reactions
• 10: Organocatalysis
• 11: Enzyme-Catalyzed Asymmetric Reactions
• 12: Solutions

• Radical Reactions of Carbohydrates I: Structure and Reactivity of Carbohydrate Radicals
• Radical Reactions of Carbohydrates II: Radical Reactions of Carbohydrates

• 1: Introduction and Course Organization
• 2: Atomic Structure
• 3: Covalent Bonding
• 4: Lewis Formulas, Structural Isomerism, and Resonance Structures
• 5: Orbital Picture of Bonding- Orbital Combinations, Hybridization Theory, and Molecular Orbitals
• 6: Electron Delocalization and Resonance
• 7: Introduction to Organic Chemistry
• 8: Conformational Analysis of Alkanes
• 9: Supplementary Notes for Stereochemistry
• 10: Intro to Theory of Chemical Reactions
• 11: Bronsted Acid-Base Chemistry
• 12: Introduction to Lewis Acid-Base Chemistry
• 13: Study Guide for Chapters 6 and 7
• 14: Highlights of Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions Involving sp3 Carbon
• 15: Relationship Between Sn1 and E1 Reactions
• 16: Electrophilic Additions of Alkenes as the Counterpart of Eliminations
• 17: Alkene Reactions Part 2
• 18: Important Concepts in Alkyne Chemistry
• 19: Oxidation States of Carbon
• 20: Common Synthetic Sequences
• 21: Hydride Reactions
• 22: Study Guide

• 1: Acid–Base Reactions
• 2: Spectroscopy- how we know what we know about the structure of matter
• 3: Conformations and Configurations - the consequences of the three-dimensional nature of carbon compounds
• 4: Nucleophilic Substitution Part II
• 5: Alkenes and Alkynes
• 6: Alcohols and an introduction to thiols, amines, ethers and sulfides
• 7: Nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl carbon-
• 8: Conjugated compounds and aromaticity
• 9: A return to the carbonyl

• 1: Introduction - The Nuclear Resonance Phenomenon
• 2: The Chemical Shift
• 3: Spin-Spin Splitting
• 4: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Reaction Kinetics
• 5: Nuclear Quadrupole Relaxation Effects and Double Resonance

• 1: Monomers and Polymers
• 2: Synthetic Methods in Polymer Chemistry
• 3: Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Polymerization
• 4: Polymer Properties

• Map: Organic Chemistry (Wade)
• Map: Organic Chemistry II (Wade)
• Map: Organic Chemistry I (Wade)

• 1: Introduction to Organic Spectroscopy
• 2: Mass Spectrometry
• 3: Conjugated Compounds and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy
• 4: Infrared Spectroscopy
• 5: Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR)
• 6: Carbon-13 NMR Spectroscopy
• 7: Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy
• 8: Structure Elucidation Problems

• 1: Pericyclic Reactions
• 2: Transition Metal Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond Forming Reactions
• 3: Neighboring Group Participation, Rearrangements, and Fragmentations
• 4: Radical Reactions
• 5: Carbene Reactions

• 1: Models of Chemical Bonding
• 2: Reaction Kinetics
• 3: Chemical Thermodynamics
• 4: Reagents and Reaction Mechanisms
• 5: Structure Reactivity Relationships
• 6: Acidity and Basicity
• 7: Kinetic Isotope Effects
• 8: Catalysis

• 3: Organic Compounds - Alkanes and Their Stereochemistry
• 7: Alkenes - Structure and Reactivity
• 8: Alkenes- Reactions and Synthesis

• 25: Carbohydrates
• 26: Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• 28: Nucleic Acids

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• Study Guides
• Homework Questions

U4L14 LAB SYNTHESIS OF ESTERS

Unlocking the Chemistry of Carbon A Game-Changing Approach to Quaternary Carbon Synthesis

C arbon is the cornerstone of organic chemistry, serving as the building block for countless molecules essential to life and technology. Within this realm, quaternary carbons—carbon atoms bonded to four other carbons—have long posed a challenge for chemists due to their elusive nature. However, a groundbreaking study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has unveiled a revolutionary method for synthesizing quaternary carbons using a single, inexpensive iron catalyst. This discovery promises to revolutionize the field of organic synthesis, offering a simple and cost-effective approach to producing complex molecules with broad implications for drug development and material science.

The Quest for Quaternary Carbons: Challenges and Opportunities

Quaternary carbons play a vital role in the structure and function of numerous molecules, including many pharmaceutical compounds. Despite their significance, synthesizing these elusive motifs has remained a formidable challenge, often requiring multiple steps and harsh conditions. Traditional methods for quaternary carbon synthesis are laborious, inefficient, and reliant on costly catalysts. Consequently, researchers have sought alternative approaches to streamline the synthesis process and expand the scope of accessible molecules. The emergence of a cost-effective and straightforward method for quaternary carbon synthesis represents a major breakthrough in organic chemistry, offering new possibilities for molecular design and discovery.

The Power of Catalysis: A Singular Solution

Central to the Scripps Research study is the utilization of catalysis—an essential tool in modern chemistry—to facilitate the conversion of simple feedstock chemicals into quaternary carbons. Unlike conventional approaches that rely on multiple catalysts and intricate reaction pathways, the Scripps Research team identified a single iron-based catalyst capable of catalyzing multiple crucial steps in the synthesis process. This streamlined approach not only reduces the cost and complexity of quaternary carbon synthesis but also minimizes waste production and environmental impact. By harnessing the power of catalysis, researchers have unlocked a simpler, more sustainable pathway to complex molecule synthesis.

Harnessing Abundant Feedstock Chemicals: A Resourceful Strategy

A key advantage of the Scripps Research method lies in its utilization of readily available and inexpensive feedstock chemicals as starting materials. Carboxylic acids and olefins, two major classes of chemical feedstocks, serve as the foundation for quaternary carbon synthesis, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional precursors. Moreover, the abundance and affordability of these feedstock chemicals ensure scalability and accessibility, enabling widespread adoption of the synthetic approach across academia and industry. By tapping into the potential of abundant feedstock chemicals, researchers have democratized quaternary carbon synthesis, democratizing access to advanced molecular building blocks.

Scripps Research: A Hub of Innovation and Collaboration

The success of the Scripps Research study underscores the institution’s commitment to excellence in scientific research and innovation. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and a culture of scientific discovery, Scripps Research has fostered a collaborative environment conducive to breakthroughs in chemistry and beyond. The collaborative efforts of researchers from diverse backgrounds and expertise have culminated in the development of a transformative method for quaternary carbon synthesis, with far-reaching implications for drug development, materials science, and beyond. As a hub of innovation and collaboration, Scripps Research continues to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge and drive progress in fields critical to human health and well-being.

Implications for Drug Discovery and Beyond: A Paradigm Shift in Molecular Design

The implications of the Scripps Research study extend far beyond the realm of organic synthesis, with profound implications for drug discovery, materials science, and beyond. The ability to efficiently synthesize quaternary carbons opens new avenues for the design and development of novel pharmaceutical compounds with enhanced potency, selectivity, and bioavailability. Additionally, the streamlined synthesis process offers opportunities for the creation of advanced materials with tailored properties and applications in diverse fields, from electronics to renewable energy. By unlocking the chemistry of carbon, researchers at Scripps Research have ushered in a new era of molecular design and discovery, paving the way for transformative advancements in science and technology.

The discovery of a simple, inexpensive method for synthesizing quaternary carbons represents a landmark achievement in organic chemistry, with profound implications for drug discovery, materials science, and beyond. Through the strategic utilization of catalysis and abundant feedstock chemicals, researchers at Scripps Research have overcome longstanding challenges in quaternary carbon synthesis, opening new frontiers in molecular design and discovery. As the scientific community continues to harness the power of catalysis and collaborative innovation, the potential for transformative advancements in science and technology is limitless. By unlocking the chemistry of carbon, researchers have laid the groundwork for a future defined by innovation, sustainability, and progress.

Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers

Anisotropic zsm-5 nanorod assemblies: facile synthesis, epitaxial growth, and strikingly enhanced stability in benzene alkylation.

The synthesis of superior-quality zeolite nanoassemblies remains a critical objective, driven by their potential to significantly enhance mass transfer and improve accessibility to active sites, ultimately leading to enhanced catalytic performance. In this study, we report the facile synthesis of a unique class of ZSM-5 nanorod assemblies, referred to as NA-ZSM-5, through a straightforward approach that combines a Silicalite-1 (Sil-1) seed-induced strategy with the assistance of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Notably, each bundle-shaped zeolite crystal exhibits an abundance of inter-nano-crystal mesopores, comprising numerous loosely stacked nanorods, thereby displaying distinctive anisotropic characteristics. Moreover, the size of the nanorods can be easily adjusted by changing the amount of CTAB added. The morphological progression of the ZSM-5 nanorod assemblies was comprehensively investigated using a range of analytical techniques. Our analysis reveals that the incorporation of Sil-1 seeds into the synthesis process plays a pivotal role in establishing the primary framework structure, facilitating the attachment of precursor particles and promoting the creation of nucleation sites crucial for nanorod growth. In contrast, CTAB primarily acts as a modulating agent, influencing the c-axis-oriented growth of the nanorods. The resulting NA-ZSM-5 zeolite demonstrates substantial surface area, contains specific mesoporous structures, and exhibits moderate acidity, all of which contribute to its outstanding catalytic performance in the alkylation of benzene with ethanol. Remarkably, this catalyst displays remarkable reaction stability, withstanding continuous operation for over 500 hours, even under conditions characterized by a low benzene/ethanol ratio of 2.

• This article is part of the themed collection: 2024 Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers HOT articles

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P. Zhu, Y. Yu, G. Gao, Y. Zhao, Y. Jiao, H. Liu, G. Liu, X. Zhang and G. Yang, Inorg. Chem. Front. , 2024, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D4QI00287C

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