LAb 5

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Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the absolute configuration of an unknown chiral secondary alcohol using the competing enantioselective conversion (CEC) method. This method uses both R- and S- enantiomers of a chiral acyl-transfer catalyst called homobenzotetramisole (HBTM), in separate parallel reactions, and thin layer chromatography to identify the stereochemistry of the secondary alcohol, whether it be an R- or S- enantiomer. Quantitative analysis was performed using a program called ImageJ after the appropriate picture was taken of the stained TLC plate. The molecular structure of the unknown alcohol was identified using 1H NMR spectroscopy by matching the hydrogens to the corresponding peak. Theory: The competing enantioselective conversion method uses each enantiomer of a kinetic resolution reagent, in this case R-HBTM and S-HBTM, in separate and parallel reactions, where the stereochemistry of the secondary alcohol is determined by the rate of the reactions. When using the CEC method, the enantiomer of the secondary alcohol will react with one enantiomer of the HBTM acyl-transfer catalyst faster than with the other HBTM enantiomer. The mnemonic that identifies the absolute configuration of the secondary alcohol is as follows: if the reaction is faster with the S-HBTM, then the secondary alcohol has the R-configuration. In contrast, if the reaction is faster with the R-HBTM, then the secondary alcohol has the S-configuration. Thin layer chromatography will be used to discover which enantiomer of HBTM reacts faster with the unknown secondary alcohol. The fast reaction corresponds to a higher Rf spot (the ester) with a greater density and a slower reaction corresponds to a lower Rf spot with high de... ... middle of paper ... ...icted α-methyl-2-naphthalenemethanol. Probably the most obvious clue that corresponded to this secondary alcohol was the seven integrated hydrogens within the aromatic region of 7.5-7.9 ppm. This compound was the only one that had seven hydrogens belonging to naphthalene. The other two secondary alcohols 3-methoxy-α-methylbenzyl alcohol and 4-bromo-α-methylbenzyl alcohol have only four aromatic hydrogens. Conclusion: As a final point, the unknown secondary alcohol α-methyl-2-naphthalenemethanol had the R-configuration since it reacted the fastest with S-HBTM and much slower with R-HBTM. TLC was a qualitative method and ImageJ served as a quantitative method for determining which reaction was the faster esterification. Finally, 1H NMR assisted in identifying the unknown from a finite list of possible alcohols by labeling the hydrogens to the corresponding peaks.

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