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Full-Text Articles in Chemistry

Best Organic Chemistry Practices In The Midwest, Claire Van Der Bosch Apr 2019

Best Organic Chemistry Practices In The Midwest, Claire Van Der Bosch

Honors Theses

Organic Chemistry is a gateway course to a handful of courses in higher chemical education. Unfortunately, it is notorious for its high-fail, high-withdrawal, and high-drop rate and has a reputation for being time-consuming, with difficult concepts that are oftentimes new to students. It is often taught in a two-semester sequence, with the courses named Organic I and Organic II, and both courses have a lab component. At Western Michigan University, the fail rate for these two courses are 53.5% and 36.9%, respectively. Most higher education institutions are certified with the American Chemical Society (ACS) and given a skeleton of a …


Nickel Catalyzed Cyclizations Of Alkynyl-Etones And Their Application To The Formal Synthesis Of Pentalenic Acid, Kevin Schlosser Dec 1996

Nickel Catalyzed Cyclizations Of Alkynyl-Etones And Their Application To The Formal Synthesis Of Pentalenic Acid, Kevin Schlosser

Honors Theses

Pentalenic acid is a very important molecule because it is a biosynthetic intermediate of pentalenolactone, which has antibiotic effects on Grampositive/ negative bacteria and pathogenic fungi. These effects are due to its ability to inhibit glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.1 However, the total synthesis of pentalenic acid is very lengthy.2 This project will begin the process of finding a more convenient route to pentalenic acid. Previously in this laboratory there have been experiments conducted in the cyclization of enones with nickel (0)3 It is hypothesized that this method can be used to shorten the preparation of pentalenic acid. As illustrated by the …


Determination Of The Rate Of Formation Of Hcn, Mitchell Hull Nov 1977

Determination Of The Rate Of Formation Of Hcn, Mitchell Hull

Honors Theses

Nitric oxide is a major air pollutant arising from fossil fuel combustion, yet the fuel contribution to its formulation is uncertain. Since, in combustion, fossil fuels undergo disintegration before oxidation takes place, the study of the pyrolsis of a model constituent of fossil fuels can shed light on NO formation. The rate of inert pyrolytic disappearance of pyridine and the rate of formation of the principal Nitrogen-containing pyrolytic product, HCN, was studied in an inert atmosphere. The rate constant for the formation of HCN and its temperature dependence were determined.