Name reaction
Encyclopedia
A name reaction is a chemical reaction
named after its discoverers or developers. Well known examples include the Wittig reaction
, the Claisen condensation
, the Friedel-Crafts acylation, and the Diels-Alder reaction
. Among the tens of thousands of organic reactions that are known, hundreds of such reactions are well-known enough to be named after people. Books have been published devoted exclusively to name reactions; the Merck Index
, a chemical encyclopedia, also includes an appendix on name reactions.
As organic chemistry developed during the 20th century, chemists started associating synthetically useful reactions with the names of the discoverers or developers; in many cases, the name is merely a mnemonic. Some cases of reactions that were not really discovered by their namesakes are known. Examples include the Pummerer rearrangement
and the Birch reduction
.
Although systematic approaches for naming reactions based on the reaction mechanism or the overall transformation exist (such as the IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations
), the more descriptive names are often unwieldy or not specific enough, so people names are often more practical for efficient communication.
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
named after its discoverers or developers. Well known examples include the Wittig reaction
Wittig reaction
The Wittig reaction is a chemical reaction of an aldehyde or ketone with a triphenyl phosphonium ylide to give an alkene and triphenylphosphine oxide....
, the Claisen condensation
Claisen condensation
The Claisen condensation is a carbon–carbon bond forming reaction that occurs between two esters or one ester and another carbonyl compound in the presence of a strong base, resulting in a β-keto ester or a β-diketone...
, the Friedel-Crafts acylation, and the Diels-Alder reaction
Diels-Alder reaction
The Diels–Alder reaction is an organic chemical reaction between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene, commonly termed the dienophile, to form a substituted cyclohexene system. The reaction can proceed even if some of the atoms in the newly formed ring are not carbon...
. Among the tens of thousands of organic reactions that are known, hundreds of such reactions are well-known enough to be named after people. Books have been published devoted exclusively to name reactions; the Merck Index
Merck Index
The Merck Index is an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs and biologicals with over 10,000 monographs on single substances or groups of related compounds. It also includes an appendix with monographs on organic name reactions. It is published by the United States pharmaceutical company Merck & Co...
, a chemical encyclopedia, also includes an appendix on name reactions.
As organic chemistry developed during the 20th century, chemists started associating synthetically useful reactions with the names of the discoverers or developers; in many cases, the name is merely a mnemonic. Some cases of reactions that were not really discovered by their namesakes are known. Examples include the Pummerer rearrangement
Pummerer rearrangement
The Pummerer rearrangement is an organic reaction whereby an alkyl sulfoxide rearranges to an α-acyloxy–thioether in the presence of acetic anhydride. In this reaction, sulfur is reduced while adjacent carbon is oxidized....
and the Birch reduction
Birch reduction
The Birch Reduction is an organic reaction which is particularly useful in synthetic organic chemistry. The reaction was reported in 1944 by the Australian chemist Arthur Birch working in the Dyson Perrins Laboratory in the University of Oxford, building on earlier work by Wooster and Godfrey in...
.
Although systematic approaches for naming reactions based on the reaction mechanism or the overall transformation exist (such as the IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations
IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations
The IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations is a methodology for naming a chemical reaction. Traditionally a chemical reaction especially in organic chemistry is named after its inventor, the so called named reaction, to name just a few: Knoevenagel condensation, Wittig reaction or Diels-Alder...
), the more descriptive names are often unwieldy or not specific enough, so people names are often more practical for efficient communication.