1 Classification reactions Carboxyl group

O.xidation of side-chains, with the resultant formation of carboxyl groups, is another typical reaction of aromatic hydrocarbons and of many of their derivatives. This reaction is of minor importance for the purposes of classification but again it is of great value in the preparation of derivatives. It will therefore be discussed in Chapter X. 

The carboxyl group may be determined by direct titration according to the method suggested in the classification reactions in Chapter IX, Exp. 14. The saponification of estei-s, likewise, is illustrated in laboratory experiment No. 17. 

The most characteristic reaction of butadiene catalyzed by palladium catalysts is the dimerization with incorporation of various nucleophiles [Eq. (11)]. The main product of this telomerization reaction is the 8-substituted 1,6-octadiene, 17. Also, 3-substituted 1,7-octadiene, 18, is formed as a minor product. So far, the following nucleophiles are known to react with butadiene to form corresponding telomers water, carboxylic acids, primary and secondary alcohols, phenols, ammonia, primary and secondary amines, enamines, active methylene compounds activated by two electron-attracting groups, and nitroalkanes. Some of these nucleophiles are known to react oxidatively with simple olefins in the presence of Pd2+ salts. Carbon monoxide and hydrosilanes also take part in the telomerization. The telomerization reactions are surveyed based on the classification by the nucleophiles. 

The rationale of classification by reaction types is that different functional groups may show the same kinds of reactions. Thus, as we have just seen, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and amines all can accept a proton from a suitably strong acid. Fortunately, there are very few different types of organic reactions — at least as far as the overall result that they produce. The most important are acid-base, substitution, addition, elimination, and rearrangement reactions. Some examples of these are given below, and you should understand that these are descriptive of the overall chemical change and nothing is implied as to how or why the reaction occurs (also see Section 1-11). 

Classification and Organization of Reactions Forming Difunctional Compounds. This chapter considers all possible difunctional compounds formed from the groups acetylene, carboxylic acid, alcohol, thiol, aldehyde, amide, amine, ester, ether, epoxide, thioether, halide, ketone, nitrile, and olefin. Reactions that form difunctional compounds are classified into sections on the basis of the two functional groups of the product. The relative positions... 

Monomers can be joined by means of two principal methods to form polymers, and these methods are used as the broad basis for classification of synthetic polymers. The first of these, condensation, or step-growth polymerization, involves the use of functional group reactions such as esterification or amide formation to form polymers. When each of the molecules involved has only one functional group then the reaction between a carboxylic acid and an alcohol gives an ester (Eq. 20.3). In this equilibrium reaction water removal will help drive the reaction to the right. 

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