Organic Chemistry Flashcards
conjugation
3 or more adjacent pi orbitals
aromatic compounds
have a planar structure developed
n+2 is the number of pi electrons. n can be any integer
How can you determine what is a stronger acid?
look at the stability of the conjugate base
How can you determine a stronger base?
look at the stability of the conjugate base, see what is a better acid and do the opposite
What is a stronger acid: carboxylic acid or phenol?
carboxylic acid since you can make resonance structures with the negative oxygen
carboxylic acid has a very stable conjugate base, making it a strong acid
Thermodynamic characteristics of alkanes
low melting/boiling points since they only have london dispersion forces between them
volatile
refers to molecules with low boiling points
Two ways to form alkyl halides
heating diatomic molecules to form free radicals, then the free radical will react with the hydrocarbon
or, hydrohalogenation
hydrohalogenation
addition of a halogen atom to the double bond of an alkane
Why are alkyl halides so reactive?
they possess a great leaving group (halide) and they pull electrons from carbon making carbon electrophilic
phenyl
benzene ring
How can you reduce an alkene to an alkane?
through hydrogenation, add more hydrogen
isomers
molecules that share the same formula but differ in structure
structural isomers
also called constitutional isomers
connectivity is different
have to break bonds to convert between structural isomers
tautomers
structural isomers that interconvert with one another and exist together in equilibrium
connectivity differs, this is not resonance!
example of tautomers
keto-enol tautomer
conformational isomers
how single bonds are arranged in space
rotation around a single bond can convert between conformational isomers
where should bulky constituents be placed in the most stable chair conformation?
they should be placed equatorially
geometric isomers
a type of configurational isomer
configuration around a double bond
cis/trans or E/Z
E configuration
highest priority groups are on opposite sides of the double bond
Is Z the same as cis?
no
Z refers to highest priority groups, while cis refers to the same groups. Nitpicky detail
Z configuration
highest priority groups are on same side of the double bond
enantiomers
a pair of non-superimposable mirror images
How can two molecules with multiple chiral centers be enantiomers?
if the molecules have different configurations at the same location
ex: RRS / SSR
racemic mixture
mixture of 50/50 enatiomers cannot rotate light
What are some ways to separate enatiomers?
use chiral chromatography
interactions with a chiral ligand
What is the D/L orientation of most amino acids?
L
What is the D/L orientation of most saccharides?
D
What is the relationship between D/L?
they are enantiomers
diastereomers
have different configurations at some but not all locations
ex: RRR / SSR
epimers
stereoisomers that differ at just one chiral center
ex: RRS / RRR
meso compounds
have an internal plane of symmetry which makes them achiral
Can meso compounds be enantiomers?
no, since they are achiral
Where do you start numbering a Fischer projection of a carbohydrate?
at the top carbon
Where do you start numbering a Haworth projection of a carbohydrate?
at the anomeric carbon
Where does the anomeric carbon come from?
it is the original carbonyl carbon in the aldose/ketose that was attacked by an -OH group
Where does the oxygen that attacked the carbonyl group to cyclize end up on Haworth projection?
the oxygen ends up in the ring
What do aldoses lead to?
hemiacetal anomeric carbons
What do ketoses lead to?
hemiketal anomeric carbons
Is the anomeric carbon directly attached to two oxygens?
yes
furanose
a cyclic carbohydrate with a 5 membered ring
pyranose
a cyclic carbohydrate with a 6 membered ring
can furanoses have 6 carbons?
yes, that would be a hexose furanose
furanose just tells us about the ring NOT about the number of carbons
where does the right side of Fischer projection point in Haworth projection?
down
alpha anomer
anomeric hydroxyl group points down
beta anomer
anomeric hydroxyl group points up
mutarotation
moves between beta and alpha anomers
need to break a bond for mutarotation to occur
What determines melting points and boiling points?
intermolecular interactions
More -OH groups results in what?
higher melting point
Water’s pKa
14
How can you make alcohols more acidic?
add electron withdrawing group
then, when the -OH proton is removed the conjugate base can better distribute the negative charge
How can you make alcohols less reactive?
add electron donating group
EDG will make the conjugate base less stable, and therefore the alcohol is less likely to react
-al
aldehyde
-one
ketone
-oic acid
caboxylic acid
What can primary alcohols become?
primary alcohols can become either aldehydes or be further oxidized to carboxylic acids
What can secondary alcohols become?
secondary alcohols can be oxidized to ketones
What can tertiary alcohols become?
3º alcohols cannot be further oxidized
PCC
a weak oxidizing agent
can turn hydroxyls into carbonyl
Example of stronger oxidizing agents
molecules with Cr and Oxygen
or molecules with a metal and oxygen
Alcohols in synthesis reactions
if we want to protect the alcohol, need to use a protecting group
protecting groups
silyl ethers, mesylates, and tosylates