In organic chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure R–C(=O)–R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group –C(=O)–. The simplest ketone is acetone, with the formula CH3C(O)CH3. Many ketones are of great importance in biology and in industry. Examples include many sugars (ketoses), many steroids, and the solvent acetone.
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure R−CH=O. The functional group itself can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group. Aldehydes are common and play important roles in the technology and biological spheres.
The term chromic acid is usually used for a mixture made by adding concentrated sulfuric acid to a dichromate, which may contain a variety of compounds, including solid chromium trioxide. This kind of chromic acid may be used as a cleaning mixture for glass. Chromic acid may also refer to the molecular species, H2CrO4 of which the trioxide is the anhydride. Chromic acid features chromium in an oxidation state of +6 (or VI). It is a strong and corrosive oxidising agent.
Pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) is a yellow-orange salt with the formula [C5H5NH]+[CrO3Cl]−. It is a reagent in organic synthesis used primarily for oxidation of alcohols to form carbonyls. A variety of related compounds are known with similar reactivity. PCC offers the advantage of the selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones, whereas many other reagents are less selective.
In organic chemistry, ozonolysis is an organic reaction where the unsaturated bonds of alkenes, alkynes, or azo compounds are cleaved with ozone. Alkenes and alkynes form organic compounds in which the multiple carbon–carbon bond has been replaced by a carbonyl group while azo compounds form nitrosamines. The outcome of the reaction depends on the type of multiple bond being oxidized and the work-up conditions.
The Nicolaou Taxol total synthesis, published by K. C. Nicolaou and his group in 1994 concerns the total synthesis of taxol. Taxol is an important drug in the treatment of cancer but also expensive because the compound is harvested from a scarce resource, namely the pacific yew.
The Danishefsky Taxol total synthesis in organic chemistry is an important third Taxol synthesis published by the group of Samuel Danishefsky in 1996 two years after the first two efforts described in the Holton Taxol total synthesis and the Nicolaou Taxol total synthesis. Combined they provide a good insight in the application of organic chemistry in total synthesis.
Glycol cleavage is a specific type of organic chemistry oxidation. The carbon–carbon bond in a vicinal diol (glycol) is cleaved and instead the two oxygen atoms become double-bonded to their respective carbon atoms. Depending on the substitution pattern in the diol, these carbonyls can be either ketones or aldehydes.
Oppenauer oxidation, named after Rupert Viktor Oppenauer, is a gentle method for selectively oxidizing secondary alcohols to ketones.
The Sarett oxidation is an organic reaction that oxidizes primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, respectively, using chromium trioxide and pyridine. Unlike the similar Jones oxidation, the Sarett oxidation will not further oxidize primary alcohols to their carboxylic acid form, neither will it affect carbon-carbon double bonds. Use of the original Sarett oxidation has become largely antiquated however, in favor of other modified oxidation techniques. The unadulterated reaction is still occasionally used in teaching settings and in small scale laboratory research.
Collins reagent is the complex of chromium(VI) oxide with pyridine in dichloromethane. This metal-pyridine complex, a red solid, is used to oxidize primary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and secondary alcohols to the corresponding ketones. This complex is a hygroscopic orange solid.
The pyridinium dichromate(PDC) or Cornforth reagent is a pyridinium salt of dichromate with the chemical formula [C5H5NH]2[Cr2O7]. This compound is named after the Australian-British chemist Sir John Warcup Cornforth (b. 1917) who introduced it in 1962. The Cornforth reagent is a strong oxidizing agent which can convert primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones respectively. In its chemical structure and functions it is closely related to other compounds made from hexavalent chromium oxide, such as pyridinium chlorochromate and Collins reagent. Because of their toxicity, these reagents are rarely used nowadays.
The oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is an important oxidation reaction in organic chemistry.
The oxidation of secondary alcohols to ketones is an important oxidation reaction in organic chemistry.
The Dess–Martin oxidation is an organic reaction for the oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes and secondary alcohols to ketones using Dess–Martin periodinane. It is named after the American chemists Daniel Benjamin Dess and James Cullen Martin who developed the periodinane reagent in 1983.
Alcohol oxidation is a class of organic reactions in which the alcohol functional group is converted into another functional group in which carbon carries a higher oxidation state.
Oxidation with chromium(VI) complexes involves the conversion of alcohols to carbonyl compounds or more highly oxidized products through the action of molecular chromium(VI) oxides and salts. The principal reagents are Collins reagent, PDC, and PCC. These reagents represent improvements over inorganic chromium(VI) reagents such as Jones reagent.
Oxoammonium-catalyzed oxidation reactions involve the conversion of organic substrates to more highly oxidized materials through the action of an N-oxoammonium species. Nitroxides may also be used in catalytic amounts in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of a terminal oxidant. Nitroxide radical species used are either 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) or derivatives thereof.
The Jones oxidation is an organic reaction for the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to carboxylic acids and ketones, respectively. It is named after its discoverer, Sir Ewart Jones. The reaction was an early method for the oxidation of alcohols. Its use has subsided because milder, more selective reagents have been developed, e.g. Collins reagent.
The Stahl oxidation is a copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones. Known for its high selectivity and mild reaction conditions, the Stahl oxidation offers several advantages over classical alcohol oxidations.
