Additional Problems

Give IUPAC names for the following compounds:

Draw the structure of the carbonyl compound(s) from which each of the following alcohols might have been prepared, and show the products you would obtain by treatment of each alcohol with (1) Na metal, (2) SOCl₂, and (3) Dess–Martin periodinane.

Predict the product from reaction of the following substance (reddish brown = Br) with:

Predict the product from reaction of the following substance with:

Name and assign R or S stereochemistry to the product(s) you would obtain by reaction of the following substance with ethylmagnesium bromide. Is the product chiral? Is it optically active? Explain.

Evidence for the intermediate carbocations in the acid-catalyzed dehydration of alcohols comes from the observation that rearrangements sometimes occur. Propose a mechanism to account for the formation of 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene from 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanol.

Acid-catalyzed dehydration of 2,2-dimethylcyclohexanol yields a mixture of 1,2-dimethylcyclohexene and isopropylidenecyclopentane. Propose a mechanism to account for the formation of both products.

Epoxides react with Grignard reagents to yield alcohols. Propose a mechanism.

Treatment of the following epoxide with aqueous acid produces a carbocation intermediate that reacts with water to give a diol product. Show the structure of the carbocation, and propose a mechanism for the second step.

Reduction of 2-butanone with NaBH₄ yields 2-butanol. Is the product chiral? Is it optically active? Explain.

The conversion of 3° alcohols into 3° alkyl halides under acidic conditions involves two cationic intermediates. For each reaction, draw the complete mechanism using curved arrows.

Identify the type of substitution mechanism (S_N1, S_N2) involved in the conversion of the following alcohols into the corresponding alkyl halide.

The conversion of 3° alcohols into alkenes under acidic conditions involves two cationic intermediates. For each reaction, draw the complete mechanism using curved arrows.

For each reaction, write the mechanism using curved arrows for the conversion of the alcohol into the corresponding alkene with POCl₃. In each case, explain the regiochemistry of the elimination.

The trimethylsilyl (TMS) protecting group is one of several silicon protecting groups for alcohols. For each reaction, draw the mechanism for the protection of (R)-3-bromo-1-butanol with the following silyl chlorides, using triethylamine as the base:

When the following alcohol is treated with POCl₃ and pyridine, the expected elimination product is formed. However, when the same alcohol is treated with H₂SO₄, the elimination product is 1,2-dimethylcyclopentene. Propose a mechanism for each pathway to account for these differences.

Phenols generally have lower pK_a’s than alcohols because of resonance stabilization with the aromatic ring. Draw all of the resonance contributors for the following phenolate ions.

Give IUPAC names for the following compounds:

Draw and name the eight isomeric alcohols with formula C₅H₁₂O.

Draw structures corresponding to the following IUPAC names:

Bombykol, the sex pheromone secreted by the female silkworm moth has the formula C₁₆H₂₈O and the systematic name (10E,12Z)-10,12-hexadecadien-1-ol. Draw bombykol, showing the correct geometry for the two double bonds.

Carvacrol is a naturally occurring substance isolated from oregano, thyme, and marjoram. What is its IUPAC name?

What Grignard reagent and what carbonyl compound might you start with to prepare the following alcohols:

What carbonyl compounds would you reduce to prepare the following alcohols: List all possibilities.

What carbonyl compounds might you start with to prepare the following compounds by Grignard reaction? List all possibilities.

How would you synthesize the following alcohols, starting with benzene and other alcohols of six or fewer carbons as your only organic reagents?

What products would you obtain from reaction of 1-pentanol with the following reagents:

How would you prepare the following compounds from 2-phenylethanol: More than one step may be required.

How would you prepare the following compounds from 1-phenylethanol: More than one step may be required.

How would you prepare the following substances from cyclopentanol: More than one step may be required.

What products would you expect to obtain from reaction of 1-methylcyclohexanol with the following reagents?

The following ¹H NMR spectrum is that of an alcohol, C₈H₁₀O. Propose a structure.

Propose structures for alcohols that have the following ¹H NMR spectra:

Propose a structure consistent with the following spectral data for a compound C₈H₁₈O₂:

• IR: 3350 cm^–1
• ¹H NMR: 1.24 δ (12 H, singlet); 1.56 δ (4 H, singlet); 1.95 δ (2 H, singlet)

The ¹H NMR spectrum shown is that of 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol. Assign all the observed resonance peaks to specific protons, and account for the splitting patterns.

A compound of unknown structure gave the following spectroscopic data:

• Mass spectrum: M⁺ = 88.1
• IR: 3600 cm^–1
• ¹H NMR: 1.4 δ (2 H, quartet, J = 7 Hz); 1.2 δ (6 H, singlet); 1.0 δ (1 H, singlet); 0.9 δ (3 H, triplet, J = 7 Hz)
• ¹³C NMR: 74, 35, 27, 25 δ

Propose a structure for a compound C₁₅H₂₄O that has the following ¹H NMR spectrum. The peak marked by an asterisk disappears when D₂O is added to the sample.

How would you carry out the following transformations?

Benzoquinone is an excellent dienophile in the Diels–Alder reaction. What product would you expect from reaction of benzoquinone with 1 equivalent of 1,3-butadiene? From reaction with 2 equivalents of 1,3-butadiene?

Rank the following substituted phenols in order of increasing acidity, and explain your answer:

Benzyl chloride can be converted into benzaldehyde by treatment with nitromethane and base. The reaction involves initial conversion of nitromethane into its anion, followed by S_N2 reaction of the anion with benzyl chloride and subsequent E2 reaction. Write the mechanism in detail, using curved arrows to indicate the electron flow in each step.

Reaction of (S)-3-methyl-2-pentanone with methylmagnesium bromide followed by acidification yields 2,3-dimethyl-2-pentanol. What is the stereochemistry of the product? Is the product optically active?

Testosterone is one of the most important male steroid hormones. When testosterone is dehydrated by treatment with acid, rearrangement occurs to yield the product shown. Propose a mechanism to account for this reaction.

Starting from testosterone (Problem 17-62), how would you prepare the following substances?

p-Nitrophenol and 2,6-dimethyl-4-nitrophenol both have pK_a = 7.15, but 3,5-dimethyl-4-nitrophenol has pK_a = 8.25. Why is 3,5-dimethyl-4-nitrophenol so much less acidic?

Compound A, C₁₀H₁₈O, undergoes reaction with dilute H₂SO₄ at 25 °C to yield a mixture of two alkenes, C₁₀H₁₆. The major alkene product, B, gives only cyclopentanone after ozone treatment followed by reduction with zinc in acetic acid. Write the reactions involved, and identify A and B.

Compound A, C₅H₁₀O, is one of the basic building blocks of nature. All steroids and many other naturally occurring compounds are built from compound A. Spectroscopic analysis of A yields the following information:

• IR: 3400 cm^–1; 1640 cm^–1
• ¹H NMR: 1.63 δ (3 H, singlet); 1.70 δ (3 H, singlet); 3.83 δ (1 H, broad singlet); 4.15 δ (2 H, doublet, J = 7 Hz); 5.70 δ (1 H, triplet, J = 7 Hz)

Dehydration of trans-2-methylcyclopentanol with POCl₃ in pyridine yields predominantly 3-methylcyclopentene. Is the stereochemistry of this dehydration syn or anti?

2,3-Dimethyl-2,3-butanediol has the common name pinacol. On heating with aqueous acid, pinacol rearranges to pinacolone, 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanone. Suggest a mechanism for this reaction.

As a rule, axial alcohols oxidize somewhat faster than equatorial alcohols. Which would you expect to oxidize faster, cis-4-tert-butylcyclohexanol or trans-4-tert-butylcyclohexanol? Draw the more stable chair conformation of each molecule.

Propose a synthesis of bicyclohexylidene, starting from cyclohexanone as the only source of carbon.

A problem often encountered in the oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is that esters are sometimes produced as by-products. For example, oxidation of ethanol yields acetic acid and ethyl acetate:

Propose a mechanism to account for the formation of ethyl acetate. Take into account the reversible reaction between aldehydes and alcohols:

Identify the reagents a–f in the following scheme:

Galactose, a constituent of the disaccharide lactose found in dairy products, is metabolized by a pathway that includes the isomerization of UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose, where UDP = uridylyl diphosphate. The enzyme responsible for the transformation uses NAD⁺ as cofactor. Propose a mechanism.

Propose structures for alcohols that have the following ¹H NMR spectra:

Compound A, C₈H₁₀O, has the IR and ¹H NMR spectra shown. Propose a structure consistent with the observed spectra, and label each peak in the NMR spectrum. Note that the absorption at 5.5 δ disappears when D₂O is added.