Organic Chemistry 2 - 1 session

Organic Chemistry 2 is widely considered the "reactions" semester. While Organic Chemistry 1 focuses on the fundamental laws of bonding and 3D space, the second semester moves into the complex world of aromaticity, carbonyl chemistry, and the building blocks of life (biomolecules).

Organic Chemistry 2 Syllabus

Unit 1: Conjugated Systems and Pericyclic Reactions

• Conjugation and Resonance: Stability of the allyl cation and radical.

• Dienes: Understanding 1,2-addition versus 1,4-addition (kinetic vs. thermodynamic control).

• The Diels-Alder Reaction: A [4+2] cycloaddition used to create six-membered rings.

Unit 2: Aromaticity and Benzene

• Aromaticity Criteria: Hückel’s Rule (4n+2pi electrons) and the requirement for a planar, cyclic, conjugated system.

• Naming Benzene Derivatives: Using ortho, meta, and para descriptors.

• Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (EAS): Mechanisms for nitration, sulfonation, halogenation, and Friedel-Crafts alkylation/acylation.

• Substituent Effects: How "activating" and "deactivating" groups direct new groups to specific positions on the ring.

Unit 3: Aldehydes and Ketones

• Nucleophilic Addition: The core reactivity pattern of the $C=O$ bond.

• Key Reactions: Formation of acetals, hemiacetals, imines, and enamines.

• The Wittig Reaction: A powerful method for turning a carbonyl into a carbon-carbon double bond.

Unit 4: Carboxylic Acids and Their Derivatives

• Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution: The mechanism for converting one derivative into another.

• The "Reactivity Ladder": Why acid chlorides are more reactive than esters, which are more reactive than amides.

• Hydrolysis and Saponification: Breaking down esters and amides with acid or base (the chemistry of soap making).

Unit 5: Alpha-Substitution and Condensations

• Enols and Enolates: Understanding the acidity of the alpha-hydrogen.

• The Aldol Reaction: Combining two carbonyls to form beta-hydroxy carbonyls.

• The Claisen Condensation: The ester version of the Aldol reaction.

• Malonic and Acetoacetic Ester Synthesis: Classic methods for building custom carboxylic acids and ketones.

Unit 6: Amines

• Basicity and Synthesis: Comparing the basicity of alkyl amines vs. aryl amines (aniline).

• Reactions: The Hofmann Elimination and the synthesis of diazonium salts (the "gateway" to many substituted benzenes).

Unit 7: Biomolecules

• Carbohydrates: Fischer projections, Haworth structures, and the reactivity of sugars.

• Amino Acids and Proteins: Zwitterions, isoelectric points, and the peptide bond.

• Lipids and Nucleic Acids: Brief overview of fats, steroids, and the structure of DNA/RNA.