B(C₆F₅)₃-Catalyzed Highly Stereoselective Hydrogenation of Unfunctionalized Tetrasubstituted Olefins

Source: Vy M. Dong and Zhiwei Chen, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA
This experiment will demonstrate the hydrogenation of chalcone as an example of an alkene hydrogenation reaction (Figure 1). In this experiment, palladium on carbon (Pd/C) will be used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the process. A balloon will be used to supply the hydrogen atmosphere.

Source: Vy M. Dong and Faben Cruz, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA
This experiment will demonstrate the concept of a palladium-catalyzed cross coupling. The set-up of a typical Pd-catalyzed cross coupling reaction will be illustrated. Pd-catalyzed cross coupling reactions have had a profound effect on how synthetic chemists create molecules. These reactions have enabled chemists to construct bonds in new and more efficient ways. Such reactions have found widespread...

The ruthenium-catalyzed olefination of electron-deficient alkenes with allyl acetate is described here. By using aminocarbonyl as a directing group, this external oxidant-free protocol has high efficiency and good stereo- and regioselectivity, opening a novel synthetic route to (Z,E)-butadiene...

Source: Kerry M. Dooley and Michael G. Benton, Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
The hydrogenation of ethylene (C2H4) to ethane (C2H6) has often been studied as a model reduction reaction in characterizing new metal catalysts.1-2 While supported nickel is not the most active metal catalyst for this reaction, it is active enough that reaction can take place at < 200°C.
The reaction typically involves adsorbed, dissociated hydrogen (H2)...

Source: Tamara M. Powers, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University 
One of the goals of chemistry is to use models that account for trends and provide insights into the properties of reactants that contribute to reactivity. Substances have been classified as acids and bases since the time of the ancient Greeks, but the definition of acids and bases has been modified and expanded over the years.1
The ancient Greeks would characterize substances by taste, and defined acids as those...

Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....