Organic Chemistry II
Undergraduate · Chemistry
Syllabus focus
Standard syllabus · STEM / applied
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Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
Carbonyl chemistry
- Structure and polarity of aldehydes and ketones
- Nucleophilic addition to carbonyls: mechanism and reactivity
- Grignard and organolithium additions to carbonyls
- Hydration, hemiacetal/acetal formation, and imine chemistry
- Reduction of carbonyls: NaBH₄, LiAlH₄, and catalytic hydrogenation
- Oxidation of alcohols to carbonyls
- Carboxylic acids: acidity, synthesis, and derivatives
- Acyl substitution: esters, amides, anhydrides, and acid chlorides
- Decarboxylation and β-dicarbonyl acidity (intro)
- Protecting groups for carbonyls (overview)
Enolate and conjugate addition chemistry
- Alpha acidity and enolate formation
- Aldol addition and aldol condensation
- Claisen condensation and malonic ester synthesis
- Michael addition and conjugate (1,4-) addition
- Robinson annulation (where covered)
- Keto-enol tautomerism and equilibrium
- Directed aldol and stereocontrol (introduction)
- Acetoacetic ester synthesis
- Enamines and Stork enamine alkylation
- Planning carbon–carbon bond formation in synthesis
Aromatic chemistry
- Benzene structure, resonance, and aromaticity criteria
- Hückel's rule and heteroaromatic systems (intro)
- Electrophilic aromatic substitution: general mechanism
- Nitration, sulfonation, halogenation, and Friedel–Crafts reactions
- Activating and deactivating substituents; ortho/para vs meta directors
- Synthesis planning with aromatic substitution sequences
- Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (overview)
- Polycyclic aromatics and PAHs (introduction)
- Aromatic heterocycles: pyridine, furan, thiophene (intro)
- Spectroscopy of aromatic compounds: ¹H NMR and IR features
Amines and biomolecular preview
- Amine classification and basicity trends
- Synthesis of amines: reduction, alkylation, Gabriel synthesis
- Diazonium salts and Sandmeyer reactions
- Reductive amination
- Heterocyclic amines in biology and drugs
- Carbohydrates: Fischer projections and cyclic forms (intro)
- Amino acids, peptides, and protein structure (intro)
- Lipids: fatty acids, triglycerides, and membranes (intro)
- Nucleic acids: DNA/RNA building blocks (intro)
- Multi-step synthesis problem-solving strategies
STEM / applied
Advanced spectroscopy and structure proof
- ¹³C NMR: chemical shifts and DEPT (introduction)
- 2D NMR overview: COSY and HSQC (where covered)
- Mass spectrometry for molecular formula confirmation
- Combined spectral problem-solving workflows
- Stereochemistry in carbonyl addition products
- Chiral HPLC and enantiomeric excess (intro)
- Reaction monitoring by TLC and GC-MS
- Retrosynthetic analysis of complex targets
- Green reagents in carbonyl chemistry labs
- Literature search for synthetic precedents
Applied synthesis and industry
- Pharmaceutical synthesis: aspirin, ibuprofen case studies
- Fine chemical manufacturing and scale-up considerations
- Polymer precursors from dienes and carbonyls
- Agrochemical and dye chemistry applications
- Flavor and fragrance ester synthesis
- Biocatalysis in organic synthesis (overview)
- Flow chemistry for organic reactions (intro)
- Patent and intellectual property in drug discovery (overview)
- Process safety in exothermic carbonyl reactions
- Career pathways: medicinal, process, and academic organic chemistry
Notes
Builds directly on Organic Chemistry I; mechanism reasoning and retrosynthesis are central. Topics reflect common Organic Chemistry II syllabi at US colleges and universities.