This laboratory course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience in the synthesis, purification, and characterization of organic compounds. The experiments listed below are representative of the types of reactions and techniques covered in the course:
Dehydration of Alcohols: Students will explore the dehydration reaction, converting alcohols into alkenes. Specifically, they will synthesize cyclohexene from cyclohexanol.
Oxidation of an Alcohol to a Ketone: This experiment focuses on oxidation reactions, where students will oxidize an alcohol to form a ketone.
Hypochlorite Oxidation of Acetophenone by the Haloform Reaction: Students will conduct the haloform reaction to oxidize acetophenone using hypochlorite, resulting in the formation of a carboxylic acid and a halogen-substituted compound.
Reduction of Vanillin with Sodium Borohydride: This experiment involves the reduction of vanillin to form vanillyl alcohol using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent.
Synthesis of Triphenylmethanol: Students will perform the synthesis of triphenylmethanol from benzophenone and bromobenzene.
Williamson Ether Synthesis: This experiment focuses on the synthesis of ethers using the Williamson ether synthesis method, resulting in the preparation of phenoxyacetic acid.
Directing Effects in Aromatic Bromination: Students will explore the directing effects of functional groups in aromatic compounds through bromination reactions, specifically brominating vanillin.
Synthesis of 4,4'-Di-tert-Butylbiphenyl: This experiment involves the synthesis of a substituted biphenyl compound.
Synthesis of Benzocaine: Students will synthesize benzocaine, an ester local anesthetic, through a multistep reaction sequence.
Throughout the course, students will learn various techniques in organic synthesis, purification, and characterization, including column chromatography and distillation.