3.4.10 Organic Synthesis and Analysis - Applications

Specification

Students should:
  • be able to deduce how to synthesise organic compounds using the reactions in this specification
  • be able to identify organic functional groups using the reactions in the specification

Synthesis

This is the process of making a desired product by choosing suitable available reagents and carrying out reactions in a specific order. Each stage in an organic synthesis normally requires three steps:

Reaction

The reaction chosen depends on the available reagents and efficiency. Many organic reactions do not give 100% yield, so the route is chosen which is likely to provide the best yield.

Separation

The product is usually mixed with other by-products and unreacted material and needs to be separated in some way. This may be done by filtration, distillation, steam distillation, solvent extraction, chromatography, etc.

The method chosen depends largely on the state of the product and the nature of the impurities.

Purification

The product may be purified by distillation, recrystallisation, sublimation etc.

The final purity is usually established using the melting or boiling temperature of the product. A pure product has a sharp melting/boiling point, which is in agreement with the literature value.

specification reactions


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