Palladacycle-catalyzed highly efficient kinetic resolution of 1-hydroxy-2-aryl-1,2-dihydronaphthalenes via...

Compounds bearing two hydroxyl groups are known as diols. When the hydroxyl groups are located on adjacent carbon atoms, the diols are called vicinal diols or glycols. Under acidic conditions, vicinal diols undergo a specific reaction called pinacol rearrangement.
The reaction begins with transferring a proton from the acid catalyst to one of the hydroxyl groups, producing an oxonium ion.

Introduction
One of the convenient methods for the preparation of aldehydes and ketones is via hydration of alkynes. Hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes is an indirect hydration reaction in which an alkyne is treated with borane followed by oxidation with alkaline peroxide to form an enol that rapidly converts into an aldehyde or a ketone. Terminal alkynes form aldehydes, whereas internal alkynes give ketones as the final product.

One of the common methods to prepare nitriles is the dehydration of amides. This method requires strong dehydrating agents like phosphorous pentoxide or boiling acetic anhydride for converting amides to nitriles. Another reagent namely, thionyl chloride also accomplishes the dehydration of amides, where amide acts as a nucleophile. The first step of the mechanism involves the nucleophilic attack by the amide on the thionyl chloride to form an intermediate. In the next step, the electron pairs...

Cycloadditions are one of the most valuable and effective synthesis routes to form cyclic compounds. These are concerted pericyclic reactions between two unsaturated compounds resulting in a cyclic product with two new σ bonds formed at the expense of π bonds. The [4 + 2] cycloaddition, known as the Diels–Alder reaction, is the most common. The other example is a [2 + 2] cycloaddition.

Introduction
Analogous to alkenes, alkynes also undergo acid-catalyzed hydration. While the addition of water to an alkene gives an alcohol, hydration of alkynes produces different products such as aldehydes and ketones.

Introduction
Alkynes can be prepared by dehydrohalogenation of vicinal or geminal dihalides in the presence of a strong base like sodium amide in liquid ammonia. The reaction proceeds with the loss of two equivalents of hydrogen halide (HX) via two successive E2 elimination reactions.