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specific reaction

Organic reaction


The oldest organic reactions are combustion of organic fuels and saponification of fats to make soap. Modern organic chemistry starts with the Wöhler synthesis in 1828. In the history of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awards have been given for the invention of specific organic reactions such as the Grignard reaction in 1912, the Diels-Alder reaction in 1950, the Wittig reaction in 1979 and olefin metathesis in 2005.


Organic chemistry has a strong tradition of naming a specific reaction to its inventor or inventors and a long list of so-called named reactions exists, conservatively estimated at 1000. A very old named reaction is the Claisen rearrangement (1912) and a recent named reaction is the Bingel reaction (1993). When the named reaction is difficult to pronounce or very long as in the Corey-House-Posner-Whitesides reaction it helps to use the abbreviation as in the CBS reduction. The number of reactions hinting at the actual process taking place is much smaller, for example the ene reaction or aldol reaction.

Another approach to organic reactions is by type of organic reagent, many of them inorganic, required in a specific transformation. The major types are oxidizing agents such as osmium tetroxide, reducing agents such as Lithium aluminium hydride, bases such as lithium diisopropylamide and acids such as sulfuric acid.


Factors governing organic reactions are essentially the same as that of any chemical reaction. Factors specific to organic reactions are those that determine the stability of reactants and products such as conjugation, hyperconjugation and aromaticity and the presence and stability of reactive intermediates such as free radicals, carbocations and carbanions.

An organic compound may consist of many isomers. Selectivity in terms of regioselectivity, diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity is therefore an important criterion for many organic reactions. The stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions is governed by the Woodward-Hoffmann rules and that of many elimination reactions by the Zaitsev's rule.

Organic reactions are important in the production of pharmaceuticals. In a 2006 review it was estimated that 20% of chemical conversions involved alkylations on nitrogen and oxygen atoms, another 20% involved placement and removal of protective groups, 11% involved formation of new carbon-carbon bond and 10% involved functional group interconversions.

Organic reactions by mechanism



Organic reactions by functional groups

Functional group Preparation Reactions
Acyl halides: preparation reactions
Aldehydes: preparation reactions
Acyloins: preparation reactions
*Alkanes: preparation reactions
Alkenes preparation reactions
Alkynes preparation reactions
Alkyl halides preparation reactions
Alcohols preparation reactions
Arene compounds preparation reactions
Azides preparation reactions
Aziridines preparation reactions
Amides preparation reactions
Amines preparation reactions
Carboxylic acids preparation reactions
Cyclopropanes preparation reactions
Diols preparation reactions
Esters preparation reactions
Ethers preparation reactions
Epoxide: preparation reactions
Haloketones preparation reactions
Imines preparation reactions
Isocyanates preparation reactions
Ketones preparation reactions
Lactams preparation reactions
Nitriles preparation reactions
Nitrites preparation reactions
Phenols preparation reactions
Organic reactions can be categorized based on the type of functional group involved in the reaction as a reactant and the functional group that is formed as a result of this reaction. For example in the Fries rearrangement the reactant is an ester and the reaction product an alcohol.

An overview of functional groups with their preparation and reactivity is presented on the right:

Other organic reaction classification

In heterocyclic chemistry, organic reactions are classified by the type of heterocycle formed with respect to ring-size and type of heteroatom. See for instance the chemistry of indoles.

Organic reactions can also be classified by the type of bond to carbon with respect to the element involved. More reactions are found in organosilicon chemistry, organosulfur chemistry, organophosphorus chemistry and organofluorine chemistry. With the introduction of carbon-metal bonds the field crosses over to organometallic chemistry.

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