An undergraduate Organic chemistry laboratory experiment involving the use of polarimetry to determine a reaction mechanism is described. The experiment has been shown to be successful with chiral mandelic acid and POCl3 and with chiral lactic acid and HBr. The substitution mechanisms of these reactions proceed with 1% and 38% SN2 character respectively.
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Citation
Mosher, Michael D.; Kelly, Chad O.; Mosher, Melvyn W. J. Chem. Educ.1996 73 567.
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