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Addition of PhMgBr to styrene oxide (1) affords a mixture of 2,2-diphenylethanol (3) and 1,2-diphenylethanol (6) (3:6 = 1:3); reversing the order of addition inverts the ratio of 3 to 6 formed (3:6 = 2:1). Students identify 3 and 6 by TLC comparison with authentic samples which they prepare by independent synthesis (hydride reduction of the corresponding carbonyl compounds), and establish the ratios of 3 to 6 by a combination of 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopies.
This undergraduate experiment serves as an interesting alternative to more traditional Grignard experiments and is an excellent vehicle for a "discovery-based" experiment in which students are introduced to epoxide chemistry, share their laboratory data and make mechanistic conclusions from their experimental results. Unlike most undergraduate Grignard experiments which are performed merely for the sake of illustrating a textbook reaction, this Grignard synthesis is performed to probe the reactivity of styrene oxide. Students are required to analyze their products by TLC and NMR spectroscopy (instead of just submitting them for a grade) in order to obtain the data necessary for making mechanistic conclusions.
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