Module 8: Nomenclature and Reactions of Alkenes and Alkynes
Alkenes and alkynes are hydrocarbons. They are unsaturated compounds with at least one carbon-to-carbon pi bond. Both alkenes and alkynes act as nucleophiles and react with a variety of electrophiles. The major reaction type is electrophilic addition reaction. Both functional groups also undergo oxidative cleavage reactions where both pi and sigma bonds between the unsaturated carbon atoms break. This fragmentation reaction can also be used for structural identification of an unknown alkene or alkyne.
In this module, you will be introduced to a variety of electrophilic addition reactions, rules that govern regioselectivity and stereochemistry. You will also learn new reagents and mechanisms of various reactions. Retrosynthetic analysis, an art of working backwards to synthesized target compound will be discussed in this module.
Module 8 Learning Objectives
- Be able to draw structures and write IUPAC names of alkenes, cycloalknes, alkynes and enynes.
- Be able to synthesize alkenes and alkynes from alcohols and alkyl halides.
- Be able to predict the major product of the following reactions of alkenes and alkynes:
- Hydrohalogenation
- Halogenation
- Halohydrin reaction
- Hydration in presence of strong acids
- Oxymercuration-Reduction
- Hydroboration-Oxidation
- Oxidative cleavage by ozone
- Oxidative cleavage by KMnO4
- Reduction
