Problems Set - Meeting #4

ATTN: answers to the below questions are due at the start of your lab period; these answers should be part of your pre-lab write-up.

1. Referring to chiral auxiliaries, answer the following questions.

a. Explain briefly how a chiral auxiliary works?

b. What are important parameters when chosing a chiral auxiliary?

2. Referring to the synthesis and characterization of the Jacobsen ligand, answer the following questions.

a. What is the function of the potassium carbonate in this reaction?

b. Why is water added before the reaction mixture is allowed to cool down?

c. Why does the IR spectrum not show the characteristic broad OH-peak at 3400 cm^-1 despite the fact that the product possesses two OH-groups? (Hint: It might be useful to draw the ligand molecule in Spartan and minimize it)

d. Based on the information given in the reader, what would be a good concentration for the solution to acquire the UV-Vis spectrum? Which range should be measured?

e. Could the solution from the UV-Vis analysis be used for the polarimetry experiment as well?