Glossary of Terms Used in Organic Synthesis

Accelerant A substance added to a reaction mixture that increases the rate of production of product it may or may not be a catalyst depending on whether its chemical structure is altered over the course of the reaction. 

Active catalyst The catalyst strnctnre that is actually the one involved in lowering the energy barrier for a reaction step. 

Additive A snbstance added to a reaction mixture that improves reaction performance toward a desired prodnct bnt whose role is not well defined. 

Borsm—Based on recovered starting material A calculation of reaction yield that includes both the intended target prodnct and unreacted starting material in a chemical reaction as the desired prodncts this is usually reported in papers when the true reaction yield to the intended target compound is lower than 50%. 

By-product of a reaction A product formed in a reaction between reagents as a direct mechanistic consequence of producing the target product assuming a balanced chemical equation that accounts for the production of that target product. 

---