Organic Named Reactions Compilation by Sarwar Ali (sarwarli1592005@gmail.

com)
A quick revision of named reactions/reagents/processes/catalysts

1. Raney Nickel
Raney Nickel is a Nickel-Aluminium Alloy digested in Sodium Hydroxide.
It’s most common work is to Hydrogenate alkenes or alkynes to form
alkanes. It does Hydrogenation at room temperature. The Hydrogenation
operates through surface mechanism or radical pathway and addition of
hydrogen happens in Syn-fashion. We take activated Nickel surface on
which hydrogens are adsorbed and when it comes closer to alkene/alkyne
it adds hydrogen and we get an alkane.
2. Adam’s Catalyst
Adam’s Catalyst is Platinum Dioxide and Hydrogen. It’s work is similar
to Raney-Nickel and Hydrogen and it is also used for Hydrogenation of
Alkenes/Alkynes.
3. Wurtz Reaction
This is a method which is generally used to prepare symmetrical alkanes of
high molar masses. In this reaction we take 2 moles of an Alkyl Halide and
react it with Sodium in presence of Dry Ether and the product formed is a
symmetrical alkane. This reaction has 2 mechanisms Radical mechanism
and Ionic mechanism , end product in the reaction is same despite of what
mechanism we chose.
4. Frankland Reaction
This method is pretty much similar to Wurtz reaction and is used to pre-
pare symmetrical alkanes. The only difference between Wurtz and Fran-
kland reaction is that in Frankland reaction we use Zinc in Dry Ether
instead of Sodium in Dry Ether though product formed in both the reac-
tions is same.
5. Kolbe’s Electrolysis
Kolbe’s electrolysis method is a method of preparation of substituted hy-
drocarbons from the substituted carboxylic acids by the use of the elec-
tric discharge method where carbon dioxide gas is released. The solu-
tion/electrolyte taken here is basic/alkaline in nature and we generally
take Sodium or Potassium Salt.
6. Clemmensen’s Reduction
This is a very useful method to reduce Carbonyls. It converts Carbonyl
group to Methylene group. It can also reduce acid sensitive groups or
nitrogenous groups for example it can reduce OH to Cl , SH to Cl , NH3
to NH3(+)Cl(-) , NO2 to NH2 etc. The reagent used in this reduction is
Zinc-Amalga in Hydrochloric acid i.e. Zn + Hg/HCl. This reduction has
2 mechanisms, the classic mechanism is the nakabayashi mechanism which
was rejected earlier and now the modern mechanism which is followed is
the Carbenoid mechanism.

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 7. Wolf-Kishnner’s Reduction
This is also a method to reduce Carbonyls. It also converts Carbonyl group
to Methylene group. It can also reduce base sensitive groups. Driving
force of this reaction is evolution of Nitrogen gas. The reagent used here
is NH2-NH2(hydrazine) in alcoholic potassium hydroxide or glycol.

8. Corey-House Synthesis
This is a method which is used generally for preparation of unsymmetri-
cal alkanes. The reagent used here is generally gillman’s reagent that is
R2CuLi where R is any alkyl or aryl group. In this method we take an
alkyl halide and then we react it with gilman’s reagent and the product
formed is an alkane.

9. Cope-Reaction
The Cope reaction or Cope elimination is an elimination reaction of the
N-oxide to form an alkene and a hydroxylamine. The reagent used in this
reaction is usually Hydrogen Peroxide or Caro’s Acid.

10. Kharasch Effect

Kharasch Effect is the effect shown when unsymmetrical alkenes react with
alkyl bromide in the presence of peroxides and the reaction proceeds via
a free radical mechanism. I follows anti-markownikoff’s addition.
11. Kucherov Reaction
Kucherov reaction is a reaction in which a carbonyl is formed from an
alkyne generally. The reagents used here is a mixture of 1% HgSO4 , 20%
H2SO4 , 79% H2O. It follows markownikoff’s addition.
12. Birch Reduction
In this reduction trans alkene is prepared from an alkyne. The reagent
used here is generally Sodium in Liquid Ammonia and temperature kept is
-33.4 degree celsius and solvent is generally methanol. It proceeds through
single electron transfer mechanism. This reduction is also used to reduce
aromatic hydrocarbons to non-conjugated dienes.
13. Friedel Crafts Alkylation
An alkyl group can be added to a benzene molecule by an electrophile
aromatic substitution reaction called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reac-
tion. One example is the addition of a methyl group to a benzene ring.
The mechanism for this reaction begins with the generation of a methyl
carbocation from methylbromide. One similar reaction is Friedel Crafts
Acylation where Acylium ion is generated and reaction proceeds further.

14. Reed’s Reaction

The Reed reaction is a chemical reaction that utilizes light to oxidize
hydrocarbons to sulfonyl chlorides which can be further used to prepare
alkyl halide. The reagent used in this reaction is SO2Cl2.

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15. Groove’s Process
It is a method of preparation of Alkyl Chloride from Alcohol and the
reagent used here is Lucas Reagent that is HCl in Anhydrous Zinc Chlo-
ride. General form of this reaction is like this - R-OH + HCl in presence
of Anhydrous ZnCl2 giving R-Cl + H2O.
16. Darzen’s Process
It is also a method of preparation of Alkyl Chloride from Alcohol by
reacting it with SOCl2 or COCl2 if pyridine is used as a medium then it
proceeds through SN2 mechanism else in general conditions in proceeds
through SNi mechanism. R-CH2-OH + SOCl2 = R-CH2-Cl + SO2 + HCl
17. Borodine-Hunsdiecker’s Reaction
It is a method of preparation of Alkyl Halide generally Alkyl Bromide from
Silver salt by reacting it with Halogen in presence of CCl4. Formula of
silver salt is R-COOAg. General reaction of this type would be R-COOAg
+ Br2 in presence of CCl4 giving R-Br + AgBr + CO2.
18. Birnbaum-Simonimi Reaction
It is a method of preparation of Ester from Silver salt and Iodine. This
reaction is similar to Borodine-Hunsdiecker’s reaction just here the reac-
tants are used in 2:1 ratio , silver salt being more. RCOOAg + I2 in
presence of CCl4 giving R-COOR + CO2 + AgI
19. Finkelstein Reaction
It is a type of Halogen exchange reaction and is generally used for iodides.
The reagent used here is generally NaI or KI. The driving force in this
reaction is precipitation. It is generally carried out in Acetone medium
and proceeds via SN2. R-X + NaI/KI = R-I + NaX
20. Swarts Reaction
It is also a type of Halogen exchange reaction and is generally used for
fluorides. Fluorides are generally of Lanthanides and are poisoned before
the reaction. R-Br + CuF2/AgF/XeF2 etc = R-F
21. Reimer-Tiemann Reaction
The Reimer - Tiemann reaction is carried out on phenols in presence of
chloroform and potassium hydroxide and we obtain an aldehyde as the
end product. It proceeds through an electrophilic substitution pathway.
22. Sandmeyer’s Reaction
The Sandmeyer reaction is a chemical reaction used to synthesize aryl
halides from aryl diazonium salts using copper salts as reagents or cata-
lysts. It is an example of a radical-nucleophilic aromatic substitution.
23. Balz-Schiemann Reaction
Balz–Schiemann reaction is the conversion of phenylamine (aniline) into
phenyl fluoride (fluorobenzene) using nitrous acid, fluoroboric acid, and
heat.

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24. Wurtz-Fittig Reaction
The Wurtz–Fittig reaction is the chemical reaction of aryl halides with
alkyl halides and sodium metal in the presence of dry ether to give sub-
stituted aromatic compounds.
25. Ullmann’s Reaction
The Ullmann reaction (also known as Ullmann coupling) is a reaction that
involves the coupling of two aryl halides in the presence of copper to yield
a biaryl as the product.
26. Freund Reaction
Freund reaction is a Formation of alicyclic hydrocarbons by the action of
sodium on open chain dihalo compounds.
27. Gustavson Reaction
It is similar to Freund Reaction and we just use zinc here in place of
sodium.

28. Collins Reagent

A solution of CrO3 and Pyridine in methylene chloride is called the Collins
Reagent and is a very useful oxidizer it can oxidize 1 degree alcohols to
aldehyde.
29. Jones Reagent
Jones reagent is a solution prepared by dissolving chromium trioxide in
aqueous sulfuric acid. This is also a very powerful oxidizer and can be
used to oxidize 1 degree alohols to aldehyde.
30. Swern Oxidation
The Swern oxidation is a chemical reaction whereby a primary or sec-
ondary alcohol is oxidized to an aldehyde or ketone using oxalyl chloride,
dimethyl sulfoxide and an organic base, such as triethylamine.
31. Hinsberg’s reagent
Hinsberg reagent is an alternative name for benzene sulfonyl chloride.
This name is given for its use in the Hinsberg test for the detection and
distinction of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines in a given sample

32. Malprade Oxidation

Malaprade reaction or Malaprade oxidation is a glycol cleavage reaction
in which a vicinal diol is oxidized by periodic acid or a periodate salt
(generally HIO4 or NaIO4) to give the corresponding carbonyl functional
groups.

33. Dow’s Process

It is a method of preparation of Phenol from Bromobenzene by reacting
it with fused sodium hydroxide and further hydrolysis.

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34. Raschig’s Process
It is an industrial method for preparation of Phenol. In this method we
take a gaseous mixture of Benzene , HCl , half mole of Oxygen and then we
react the mixture with CuCl2 at 250 degree celsius to form chlorobenzene
further after reacting chlorobenzene with water at 425 degree celsius and
300 atm pressure we get Phenol.
35. Schotten-Baumann Reaction
The Schotten–Baumann reaction is a method to synthesize amides from
amines and acid chlorides.
36. Fries Rearrangement
The Fries rearrangement is a rearrangement reaction of a phenolic ester
to a hydroxy aryl ketone by catalysis of Lewis acids. It involves migration
of an acyl group of phenol ester to the aryl ring.
37. Lederer-Manasse Reaction
The reaction of phenol and formaldehyde under basic condition is referred
to as the Manasse–Lederer reaction. The final product formed in the
reaction is Bakelite.
38. Elbs Oxidation
The Elbs oxidation is the organic reaction of phenols with alkaline potas-
sium persulfate(K2S2O8) to form para-diphenols.

39. Williamson Ether Synthesis

The Williamson ether synthesis is an organic reaction, forming an ether
from an organohalide and a deprotonated alcohol. Typically it involves
the reaction of an alkoxide ion with a primary alkyl halide via an SN2
reaction.

40. Rosenmund Reduction

The Rosenmund reduction is a hydrogenation process in which an acyl
chloride is selectively reduced to an aldehyde. The reagent used in this
reduction is generally H2-Pd/BaSO4 or H2-Pd/BaCO3 or H2-Pd/CaCO3.
41. Stephen’s Reduction
This reduction involves the preparation of aldehydes from nitriles using
tin(II) chloride, hydrochloric acid and quenching the resulting iminium salt
with water. During the synthesis, ammonium chloride is also produced.
The reagent used here is generally Sn + HCl.
42. Nef’s Reaction
The Nef reaction is an organic reaction describing the acid hydrolysis of a
salt of a primary or secondary nitroalkane to an aldehyde or a ketone and
nitrous oxide.
43. Wacker’s Process
The Wacker process is an industrial process for the oxidation of terminal

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 alkenes. In this process, Alkene can directly be oxidised to their corre-
sponding aldehydes and ketones by treating them with a solution of Pal-
ladium(II) chloride (PdCl2) containing a catalytic amount of Copper(II)
chloride (CuCl2) in the presence of oxygen.
44. Etard’s Reaction
The Etard reaction is a chemical reaction that involves the direct oxidation
of an aromatic or heterocyclic bound methyl group to an aldehyde using
chromyl chloride(CrO2Cl2) in CS2 or CCl4 solvent. For example, toluene
can be oxidized to benzaldehyde.
45. Gattermann Reaction
The Gattermann reaction, is a chemical reaction in which aromatic com-
pounds are formylated by a mixture of hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen
chloride in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst such as AlCl3.
46. Gattermann Koch Synthesis
In Gattermann – Koch synthesis, benzene is treated with carbon monoxide
in the acidic medium in presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride to give
benzaldehyde. In this reaction, anhydrous aluminium chloride works as a
catalyst. It is an electrophilic substitution reaction.
47. Beckmann’s Rearrangement
The Beckmann rearrangement is a rearrangement of an oxime functional
group to substituted amides in the presence of dry HCl and a Lewis Acid.
48. Cannizzaro Reaction
The Cannizzaro reaction is a chemical reaction which involves the base-
induced disproportionation of two molecules of a non-enolizable aldehyde
to give a primary alcohol and a carboxylic acid.

49. Perkin Reaction

The Perkin reaction is an organic reaction which is used to make cinnamic
acids. It gives an α, β-unsaturated aromatic acid by the aldol condensation
of an aromatic aldehyde and an acid anhydride, in the presence of an alkali
salt of the acid.

50. Wittig Reaction

The Wittig reaction or Wittig olefination is a chemical reaction of an
aldehyde or ketone with a triphenyl phosphonium ylide called a Wittig
reagent. Wittig reactions are most commonly used to convert aldehydes
and ketones to alkenes.

51. Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation

The Baeyer–Villiger oxidation is an organic reaction that forms an ester
from a ketone or a lactone from a cyclic ketone, using peroxyacids or
peroxides as the oxidant.

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52. Riley Oxidation
The Riley oxidation is a selenium dioxide-mediated oxidation of methylene
groups adjacent to carbonyls.
53. Claisen Condensation
The Claisen condensation is a carbon–carbon bond forming reaction that
occurs between two esters or one ester and another carbonyl compound in
the presence of a strong base, resulting in a β-keto ester or a β-diketone.
54. Dieckmann Reaction
The Dieckmann condensation is the intramolecular chemical reaction of
diesters with base to give β-keto esters.

55. Knoevenagel Condensation

A Knoevenagel condensation is a nucleophilic addition of an active hy-
drogen compound to a carbonyl group followed by a dehydration reaction
in which a molecule of water is eliminated. The product is often an α,β-
unsaturated ketone (a conjugated enone).

56. Reformatsky Reaction

The Reformatsky reaction is an organic reaction which condenses aldehy-
des or ketones with α-halo esters using metallic zinc to form β-hydroxy-
esters.
57. Blaise Reaction
The Blaise Reaction allows the synthesis of β-enamino esters or β-keto
esters via the zinc-mediated reaction of nitriles with α-haloesters.
58. Tischenko Reaction
The Tishchenko reaction is an organic chemical reaction that involves
disproportionation of an aldehyde in the presence of an alkoxide.

59. Favorskii Rearrangement

The Favorskii rearrangement is principally a rearrangement of cyclopropanones
and α-halo ketones that leads to carboxylic acid derivatives. In the case
of cyclic α-halo ketones, the Favorskii rearrangement constitutes a ring
contraction.

60. Koch Reaction

The Koch reaction is an organic reaction for the synthesis of tertiary car-
boxylic acids from alcohols or alkenes. It is also called as carbonylation
of alkenes and reagent used here is generally H3PO4 at 8-10 atm pressure
aand 350 degree celsius.

61. Schmidt Reaction

The Schmidt reaction is an organic reaction in which an azide reacts with
a carbonyl derivative, usually a aldehyde, ketone, or carboxylic acid, under
acidic conditions to give an amine or amide, with expulsion of nitrogen.

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 62. Andt-Eistert Reaction
Arndt–Eistert reaction is the conversion of a carboxylic acid to its homo-
logue. In this reaction number of carbon increases. This is a multi step
process and the reagents used in order are SOCl2 , CH2N2 (2 moles) ,
Ag2O/H2O.

63. Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky Reaction

The Hell–Volhard–Zelinsky halogenation reaction is a chemical transfor-
mation that involves the halogenation of a carboxylic acid at the α carbon.
For this reaction to occur the α carbon must bear at least one proton.
Reagent used here is red phosphorus and the respective halogen in water.

64. Gabriel-Pthalimide Synthesis

The Gabriel synthesis is a chemical reaction that transforms primary alkyl
halides into primary amines. Traditionally, the reaction uses potassium
phthalimide.
65. Hoffmann’s Bromamide Degradation
In Hoffmann bromamide degradation reaction, an amide reacts with bromine
and an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide which produces primary
amine. This is a degradation reaction as the primary amine in the prod-
uct has one carbon lesser than primary amide (in the reactant).
66. Bechamp Reduction
The Bechamp reduction is used to reduce aromatic nitro compounds to
their corresponding anilines, using iron and hydrochloric acid.
67. Mendius Reaction
A reaction in which an organic nitrile is reduced by nascent hydrogen from
sodium in ethanol to a primary amine is called Mendius Reaction.

68. Wagner-Meerwein Rearrangement

A Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement is a class of carbocation 1,2-rearrangement
reactions in which a hydrogen, alkyl or aryl group migrates from one car-
bon to a neighboring carbon. They can be described as cationic [1,2]-
sigmatropic rearrangements, proceeding suprafacially and with stereo-
chemical retention.
69. Pictet-Spengler Reaction
The Pictet–Spengler reaction is a chemical reaction in which a β-arylethylamine
undergoes condensation with an aldehyde or ketone followed by ring clo-
sure.

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