Preface vi

Abbreviations vii

About the companion website viii

Introduction ix

1 Nucleophilic substitution and elimination 1

2 Alkene and alkyne chemistry 32

3 Nucleophilic additions to carbonyl groups 64

4 Enolate chemistry 96

5 Aromatic chemistry 128

6 Rearrangements 160

7 Ligand coupling processes 192

Index 224

How to Solve Organic Reaction Mechanisms: A Stepwise Approach is an upgraded and much-expanded sequel to the bestselling Reaction Mechanisms at a Glance. This book takes a unique approach to show that a general problem-solving strategy is applicable to many of the common reactions of organic chemistry, demonstrating that logical and step-wise reasoning, in combination with a good understanding of the fundamentals, is a powerful tool to apply to the solution of problems.

Subdivided by functional group, the book uses a checklist approach to problem-solving using mechanistic organic chemistry as its basis. Each mechanistic problem is presented as a two-page spread; the left-hand page introduces the problem and provides a stepwise procedure for working through the reaction mechanisms, with helpful hints about the underlying chemistry. The right-hand page contains the full
worked solution and summary.

This revised edition includes the following updates:

• A new chapter which applies the problem-solving strategy to ligand coupling reactions using transition metals

• Much-expanded set of fully worked problems

• Over 40 further problems (with answers for tutors) for use in tutorials

How to Solve Organic Reaction Mechanisms: A Stepwise Approach is an essential workbook for all students studying organic chemistry and a useful aide for teachers of undergraduate organic chemistry to use in their tutorials.