Organic Structure Determination

1-2-1 units. Partial Lab · Undergraduate

Introduces modern methods for the elucidation of the structure of organic compounds. Students carry out transition metal-catalyzed coupling reactions, based on chemistry developed in the Buchwald laboratory, using reactants of unknown structure. Students also perform full spectroscopic characterization - by proton and carbon NMR, IR, and mass spectrometry of the reactants - and carry out coupling products in order to identify the structures of each compound. Other techniques include transfer and manipulation of organic and organometallic reagents and compounds, separation by extraction, and purification by column chromatography. Satisfies 4 units of Institute Laboratory credit.