Wittig Reaction Lab Report

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Introduction
In this two week project, an experiment was designed and tested. The experiment was performed to tested how a variable affects the E/Z ratio products of a Wittig reaction.
Theory
In a Wittig reaction, C=O is converted into C=C. The organophosphorus reagent or the phosphorus ylide is the nucleophile made of a positively charge phosphorus atom with three phenyl groups bonded to a negatively charge carbon atom. To form a ylide, a triphenylphosphine attacks a primary or secondary alkyl halide to form phosphonium salt which is deprotonated. To obtain the desired product in a Wittig reaction, the carbonyl compound is treated with a ylide which forms a four-member ring called oxaphosphetane. The second step is to make a more stable bond, to achieve this an elimination occurs to form Ph3P=O (triphenylphosphine oxide) and as a result, forms the alkene. The alkene can come as a trans (E) or cis (Z) isomer depending on the stability of Wittig reagents. Stable Wittig reagents are more likely to give a E isomer; meanwhile, if it is unstable that it will give a Z isomer. This type of reaction can be consider green chemistry because it reduces waste. The mechanism behind this Wittig reaction can be found at Figure 1a.
The purpose of this experiment was see how a variable affects the end result product. In this project, the …show more content…

It is settled that a stable Wittig reagent will give a more an E isomer; meanwhile, a less stable Wittig reagent will give a Z isomer. By conducting this experiment, I learned how to read the NMR data to determine the E:Z ratio. Through analyzing the NMR, it is clear that the hypothesis is supported. To improve this experiment for the future, next time instead of extracting the solvent students can just decant the solvent to avoid the issue that was encounter during

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