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ERIC Number: EJ1290419
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Mar
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Integrating iSpartan into a Classic Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiment
Journal of Chemical Education, v98 n3 p982-985 Mar 2021
The dehydration of 2- or 4-methylcyclohexanol to obtain isomers of methylcyclohexene is a classic organic chemistry experiment. Students perform a distillation, collecting samples to analyze the progress of the reaction. The reaction produces a major product that can be explained on the basis of the regiochemistry of the [pi] bond formation for the [alpha]-[beta] elimination process. Minor products can be attributed to the possible rearrangement of the carbocation through a hydride shift. We have added computational analysis to this classic experiment to help students understand alkene stability. The experiment was performed early in the sophomore organic chemistry laboratory, before students were introduced to the mechanistic perspectives that govern the reaction. The iSpartan analysis of the possible methylcyclohexene products combined with gas chromatography data provides students with an inquiry-based laboratory experience. A novice student can analyze the computational information about the products to determine the trend in product stability and determine if a double-bond is formed at an unexpected location in the molecule. The integration of computational tools provides more information to students than performing the experiment in isolation.
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A