Named Reactions: In Organic Chemistry, Definitions, Examples, List of the Top 10 Reactions, and Other Reactions

Named Reactions Overview

Named reactions are chemical reactions that are named after the individuals who discovered the mechanics of the reaction. The practice of naming organic reactions arose in the twentieth century, when the reactions were named after their creators. Rather than delving into detail, identifying reactions allows for a simpler explanation of the transformations that occur in reactions. These chemical processes are employed in a variety of applications, including the Mitsunobu chemical, which converts alcohol into functional groups such as esters. Some of the most well-known reactions include the Gattermann Reaction and the Friedel-Crafts Acylation. 

What are Reactions in Chemistry?

A chemical reaction is a process that converts one or more compounds, known as reactants, into one or more distinct substances, known as products. Chemical elements or compounds are examples of substances. A chemical reaction rearranges the component atoms of the reactants to produce various products.

What are Named Reactions?

Reactions in organic chemistry are named after their discoverers or creators. The name response is a sort of simplification that avoids having to provide a more complete description of the attributes of an interest transformation. In organic chemistry, well-known examples include the Grignard Reaction, the Frankland Reaction, the Wittig Reaction, the Cannizzaro Reaction, the Friedel-Crafts Acylation, and the Diels-Alder Reaction. Over the years, several notable reactions have been researched and well-established in organic chemistry.

What are Named Reactions in Organic Chemistry?

Hundreds of organic reactions have been named after people among the tens of thousands of known chemical reactions. Name responses have inspired the publication of books. An appendix on name reactions is included in the Merck Index, a chemical encyclopedia. As organic chemistry progressed in the twentieth century, scientists began linking synthetically beneficial reactions with the names of the discoverers or inventors; in many cases, the name is just a mnemonic. There are certain examples of reactions that were not found by their namesakes.Pummerer Rearrangement, Pinnick Oxidation, and Birch Reduction are a few examples. Although there are systematic approaches for naming reactions based on the reaction mechanism or the overall transformation (such as the IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations), more descriptive names are frequently unwieldy or insufficiently specific, so people's names are often more practical for efficient communication. 

List of the Top 10 Mechanisms of Important Named Reactions in Organic Chemistry

The following is a list of the top 10 mechanisms of named reactions in organic chemistry-

Aldol Condensation

Aldol condensation is a chemical process that occurs when an enolate ion combines with a carbonyl molecule to produce -hydroxy aldehyde or -hydroxy ketone, which is then dehydrated to produce conjugated enone.

Balz-Schiemann Reaction

The Balz-Schiemann Reaction is named afterGünther Schiemann and Günther Balz, two German physicists. The reaction depicts the transformation of arylamines to aryl fluorides. The reaction proceeds by diazotization, followed by heat breakdown of the resulting hexafluorophosphate or tetrafluoroborates.

Carbylamine Reaction

The arylamine reaction is also known as the Hofmann isocyanide synthesis. A primary amine, chloroform, and base are combined to make isocyanides. The arylamine reaction process includes the addition of an amine to the intermediate generated by the dehydrohalogenation of chloroform. This intermediate is referred to as "dichlorocarbene."

Cannizzaro Reaction

Stanislao Cannizzaro inspired the Cannizzaro Reaction. The chemical reaction represents the disproportionation of a non-enolizable aldehyde caused by a base. The arylamine reaction can be expressed as follows-

Clemmensen Reduction

Erik Christian Clemmensen, a Danish chemist, inspired the Clemmensen reduction reaction. The Clemmensen Reduction Process demonstrates how to use zinc amalgam and hydrochloric acid to convert ketones or aldehydes to alkanes.

Etard Reaction

The Etard Reaction is named after Alexandre Léon Étard, a French scientist. The etard reaction occurs when chromyl chloride directly oxidizes a heterocyclic or aromatic methyl group to an aldehyde.

Finkelstein Reaction

The Finkelstein Reaction is named after the German scientist Hans Finkelstein. The Finkelstein reaction is a nucleophilic bimolecular reaction that involves the exchange of a halogen atom. 

Friedel Crafts' Reaction

In 1877, Charles Friedel and James Crafts invented the Friedel Crafts reaction. The Friedel-Crafts reaction is a method of affixing substituents to an aromatic ring.

Gabriel Phthalimide Synthesis

Siegmund Gabriel, a German scientist, devised the Gabriel Phthalimide Synthesis. Gabriel synthesis is a chemical process that may be used to produceprimary amines from primary alkyl halides.

Read more about the Gabriel Phthalimide Synthesis Reaction and F Orbital Shape.

Gattermann Reaction

Ludwig Gattermann, a German chemist, inspired the Gattermann Reaction. Gattermann salicylaldehyde synthesis is a chemical process in which aromatic chemicals are formylated by hydrogen cyanide in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst.

Read more about the Father of Chemistry and Electrochemical Series.

List of Other Named Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry

The following is a list of other named reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry-

1. Fischer's Indole Synthesis
2. SN1 Reaction Mechanism
3. Perkin Reaction Mechanism
4. Rosenmund Reduction Mechanism
5. Electrophilic Substitution Reaction
6. Diels-Alder Reaction Mechanism
7. Birch Reduction
8. Heck Reaction
9. Walden Inversion
10. Hofmann Elimination
11. Mannich Reaction Mechanism
12. Hydroboration oxidation reaction
13. Claisen condensation
14. Lindlar Catalyst
15. Ozonolysis of Alkenes and Alkynes
16. Michael Addition Mechanism
17. SN2 Reaction Mechanism
18. Iodoform Test
19. Maillard Reaction
20. Robinson Annulation
21. Woodward Reaction
22. Oppenauer Oxidation
23. Coumarin Synthesis

These identified reaction mechanisms may be used to identify the type of reaction, identify the chemicals used in the reactions, and comprehend the production of new organic molecules.

Read more about the Chemistry Periodic Table and the First 20 Elements of the Periodic Table.

Applications for Named Reactions in Organic Chemistry

Chemists can create new compounds using their gathered expertise. Before transformation into products, covalent bonds are frequently broken and formed in a series of separate processes. The mechanism of a reaction is a precise, sequential explanation of all the processes involved in the transformation into the product(s). The phenomena of reaction mechanism involved in the most frequent and valuable name reactions of organic chemistry will help you comprehend the phenomena of reaction mechanism involved in the most common and useful name reactions of organic chemistry. However, a significant amount of data may be acquired from the following points with proper observation of the reaction and its mechanism in organic chemistry, such as-

1. Investigate the kinetics of the reaction using rate-determining stages.
2. Isolation of isolable intermediates, such as stable carbocations or carbon free radicals.
3. The reaction was studied in the presence of additional comparable substrates and various catalysts.
4. The study of isotopically labeled atoms in reactants is critical for understanding the mechanism of named reactions in organic chemistry.
5. Tree radicals are trapped using a few chemicals.
6. Experiments in a crossover.
7. Aspects of stereochemistry.