Organic chemistry is a vast and complicated subject. There are many reactions, reagents, and conditions that show up in organic chemistry all the time,
In this blog post, we will list 5 of our favorite reagents and conditions. We hope you find this helpful as you continue with your studies!
1) Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) – Good for reducing fever or relieving pain from arthritis
2) Potassium iodide – A strong oxidizing agent used to bleach hair or remove stains from clothing or teeth whitening products (iodine solution). It can irritate skin so it is best used when mixed with another substance like hydrogen peroxide which also acts as an oxidizer but isn’t as strong.
Inorganic Reagent: Potassium iodide
Organic Reagent: Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid)
Best Conditions: None, but it is best to mix with hydrogen peroxide for skin safety
Chemical Reaction Type: Redox
Molar ratio (inorganic reagent): 0.25 Moles of Potassium iodide and 80 mL of water each containing a few drops of HCl
Reaction Time: 30 minutes in the dark at room temperature
Products: No reaction occurs on its own because iodine can’t be used as an oxidizer without another substance like potassium iodide or hydrogen peroxide. However, when mixed with hydrogen peroxide, it will turn hair greyish-black by removing natural pigment from the hair strands which are called melanins. When mixed with aspirin acetylsalicylic acid, it will turn the hair brownish-black, which is called “the iodine reaction.”
Organic Reagent: Phenol
Best Conditions: None needed. Just use pure phenol in a test tube with water as the solvent.
Chemical Reaction Type: Acid catalysis and rearrangement of an alcohol to form esters or ethers (or both) using heat for decarboxylation, followed by displacement of one molecule of acid from its salt by another compound such as ammonium chloride or methylamine
Molar Ratio (organic reagent): varies depending on what you’re making but should be roughly between 0.25 Moles x L/mol to 20 mol ratio; also depends on the size of your reaction vessel, but should be at least 0.25 moles x L/mol
Organic Reagent: Acetic anhydride
Best Conditions: None needed. Just use pure acetic anhydride in a test tube with water as the solvent.
Chemical Reaction Type: Acid catalysis and rearrangement of an alcohol to form esters or ethers (or both) using heat for decarboxylation, followed by displacement of one molecule of acid from its salt by another compound such as ammonium chloride or methylamine
Organic Reagent: Acetone
Best Conditions: 100 degrees Celsius in open-top flask with condenser and stirring rod lined with plastic tubing for better heat transfer
Chemical Reaction Type: Hydrolysis followed by decarboxylation which occurs spontaneously due to high temperature conversion. The formation of a salt from an organic acid is catalyzed by a mineral acid.
Organic Reagent: Sodium hydroxide
Chemical Reaction Type: Acid catalysis, formation of an organic salt from one molecule of a strong mineral or organic acid plus two molecules of the corresponding base. Generally occurs spontaneously at high temperature due to conversion to its conjugate base. Formation can be also catalyzed by a metal ion such as zinc (in hydrolysis) or copper (in decarboxylation). The salts are converted back into free acids under acidic conditions using a catalyst such as boron trifluoride etherate that breaks down the salt into its component ions.
Chemical Reaction Condition: Acid catalysis, formation of an organic salt from one molecule of a strong mineral or organic acid plus two molecules of the corresponding base. Generally occurs spontaneously at high temperature due to conversion to its conjugate base. Formation can be also catalyzed by a metal ion such as zinc (in hydrolysis) or copper (in decarboxylation). The salts are converted back into free acids under acidic conditions using a catalyst such as boron trifluoride etherate that breaks down the salt into its component ions.
Organic Reagent: Copper
Chemical Reaction Type: Decarbonylation, in which carbon is removed and oxides are formed.
Reaction Condition: Copper catalyzed, requires heat and a stoichiometric amount of copper oxide to form an organometallic compound with the carbon ligands as in any other metal carbonyl like nickel or iron. Decarboxylation is used for removing CO from organic compounds that contain carboxylic acid groups such as esters, amides, and salts; also seen when alcohols are heated until they break down into their alkane components (CO + H). The reaction converts primary alkyl halide to secondary chloroalkanes via opening of the C-Cl bond followed by removal of CO from the molecule forming methane gas or ethanol respectively.
Organic Reagent: Zinc
Organic Condition: NaOH, temperature of about 70°C and a pH higher than 12. This reagent is used in the oxidation reactions which are redox reaction that involve an oxidizing agent like KMnO or HClO to convert alcohols into ketones (-CHO) or phenols (-OH). The zinc acts as a catalyst for this process by binding with one hydrogen atom from water forming Zn(H)x while breaking down the other molecule.
Inorganic Reagent: Hydrogen
Inorganic Condition: high temperatures. In this reaction, the hydrogen reacts with an alkene to form a hydrogen-carbon single bond and H gas is released as well as water vapor (H20) in small amounts which are helpful for obtaining different reaction rates
Organic Reagent: concentrated sulphuric acid + hydrochloric acid + nitric acid
Mixture of organic condition and inorganic reagents where it mixes together forming cacodylic acid. It’s used when there is need to oxidize alcohols into carboxylic acids (-COOH). The primary alcohol can be epoxidized or transformed into further reactions like etherification processes using selective solvents that selectively solvents selectively solutes
Inorganic Reagent: n/a
Organic Condition: In this reaction, the alcohol is converted into an ester. This happens when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol and uses strong acids like sulphuric or hydrochloric acid as catalysts
Best reagents in organic chemistry: concentrated sulphuric acid + hydrochloric acid + nitric acid for oxidation of primary alcohols to form carboxylic acids; esters reactions using selective solvents that act as catalysts between a carboxylic acid and an alcohol – Hydrogen (inorganic) at high temperatures can be used to react with alkene which will produce hydrogen-carbon single bonds
Best reactions in organic chemistry: n/a
The best reagents are concentrated sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid for oxidation of primary alcohols to form carboxylic acids. Esters can be made by the reaction with a carboxylic acid and an alcohol but use selective solvents that act as catalysts between the two. Hydrogen (inorganic) at high temperatures is used react alkene which will produce hydrogen-carbon single bonds. The best reactions are esters from strong acids like sulphuric or hydrochloric acid reacting with an alcohol – they use selective solvents that selectively solutes __ . In this case it would be ethanol into ethyl acetate.
Inorganic reactions: n/a
The best reagent is concentrated sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid for oxidation of primary alcohols to form carboxylic acids. Esters can be made by the reaction with a carboxylic acid and an alcohol but use selective solvents that act as catalysts between the two. Hydrogen (inorganic) at high temperatures is used react alkene which will produce hydrogen-carbon single bonds. The best reactions are esters from strong acids like sulphuric or hydrochloric acid reacting with an alcohol – they use selective solvents that selectively solutes __ . In this case it would be ethanol into ethyl acetate.
Best Organic Reagents and Conditions:
The best reagent for oxidizing primary alcohols to form carboxylic acids is concentrated sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid or nitric acid. Esters can be made by the reaction with a carboxylic acid and an alcohol but use selective solvents that act as catalysts between them – these are generally esters from strong acids like sulphuric or hydrochloeric acid reacting with an alcohol (like ethanol) – they’re used in reactions using selective solvents which selectively __ . In this case it would be ethyl acetate created from ethanol into ethyl acetates. Hydrogen at high temperatures reacts alkene to produce hydrogen-carbon single bonds – and this is the hydrogenation of ethylene to produce ethene. The best reagent for oxidizing primary alcohols to form carboxylic acids is concentrated sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid or nitric acid. Esters can be made by the reaction with a carboxylic acid and an alcohol but use selective solvents that act as catalysts between them – these are generally esters from strong acids like sulphuric or hydrochloeric acid reacting with an alcohol (like ethanol) – they’re used in reactions using selective solvents which selectively __ . In this case it would be ethyl acetate created from ethanol into ethyl acetates. Hydrogen at high temperatures reacts
