Advanced Organic Chemistry (MLJ550)

Content

The students will learn to build complex molecules through carbon-carbon bond creating reactions like the classical Aldol reaction, Claisen condensation, and pericyclic reactions (e.g. the Diels-Alder reaction), but also modern Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions like Suzuki Miyaura, Heck, and Negishi reactions (the 2010 Nobel prize in chemistry). Such reactions are useful tools in organic synthesis for carbon-carbon bond creation.

Functionalization of aromatic compounds are covered through nucleophilic and electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions in addition to the Sandmeyer reaction. These types of reactions are useful for the synthesis of coupling partners in the abovementioned palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. The students will be educated in various oxidation and reduction reactions for organic compounds with emphasis on selectivity and sustainability.

Throughout the course the students will apply a mechanistic approach to understand the outcome of chemical reactions, including stereoselectivity, and use frontier orbital theory as a tool.

Laboratory course

The course includes 1 week of mandatory laboratory exercises with the grading system passed or not passed. Here the students will learn experimental methodology for organic synthesis, plan their experiments and apply some of the theory in practice. The results obtained in the laboratory is presented in written reports.

Learning outcome

• Be able to suggest reagents and reactions for desired organic transformations.
• Be able to describe organic chemical reactions by using the frontier orbital theory.
• Be able to suggest reaction pathways for multi-step organic synthesis.
• Be able to set up synthetic organic experiments, perform a short sequence of transformations and characterize the products.

Required prerequisite knowledge

Exam

Coursework requirements

Method of work

Course assessment

Literature