How do you go from chloroform to methylacetylene in as few steps as possible?

2 Answers
Nov 1, 2015

pl refer the conversion

Explanation:

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i didnt come up with this answer. i found this over the internet.
here's the link and all credit goes to the person who wrote this. no copying intended =)

http://www.meritnation.com/ask-answer/question/how-to-convert-chloroform-to-propyne/chemistry/2369492

Nov 2, 2015

There's a simpler and much cheaper way, if we're going completely theoretical.

  1. Just put chloroform into solution with 1 equivalent of ethyllithium (the lithium is a fantastic lewis acid) to extend the alkyl chain. You can find ethyllithium in an ethyllithium / benzene solution.
  2. Two equivalents of tert-butoxide in tert-butanol solvent and raise the temperature to promote two instances of #E2# (bulky nucleophile is terrible at substitution). The alcohol solvent ends up cleaning up any remaining ethyllithium by protonating the ethyl anion

Or, here's a less experimental way of doing it.

  1. React with 1 equivalent of magnesium in dry ether to make a chlorogrignard reagent, a good nucleophile
  2. React that with an equivalent of ethyl chloride, a good electrophile. Then the water cleans up any remaining #"MgCl"^(+)# and turns it into #"Mg"("OH")_2(s)#
  3. Two equivalents of tert-butoxide in tert-butanol solvent and raise the temperature to promote two instances of #E2# (bulky nucleophile is terrible at substitution).