The Reactions of Hydrocarbons Oxidation, Reduction, Substitution, Addition, Elimination, and Rearrangement

The Reactions of Hydrocarbons Oxidation, Reduction, Substitution, Addition, Elimination, and Rearrangement 

A man will turn over half a library to make one book. 

Hydrocarbons are molecules composed only of hydrogen and carbon. Some of the chemistry associated with acyclic and cyclic alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes, as well as the aromatic compounds (arenes) has already been touched upon briefly, for example, combustion (in Chapter 1), electrocycUc processes (in Chapter 4), and acidity (in Chapter 5). These processes, as well as others to be encountered here, can be cast into the traditional groupings of oxidation and reduction, addition and elimination, and substitution and rearrangement. 

When there are intennediates involved that are capable of detection (or of being inferred from the observed outcome of the reactions), the paths leading through the groups of reactions will be seen to involve the intermediates called free radicals, carbanions, carbocations, and carbenes. Of course, since our information is limited, the details of most reactions will remain obscure and inferences from a few well-studied cases will be used to extend our reach. The examples provided arise from the knitting together of only a few reactions and a few intermediates. They can be expanded upon by the vast numbers of substrates and reactants available and the subtle interplay of steric and electronic effects as reactions occur. 

Foundations of Organic Chemistry Unity and Diversity of Structures, Pathways, and Reactions, First Edition. David R. Dalton. 

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