Chem 242 @ Dickinson

Finishing Acid Derivatives

Today we finished Chapter 21; this was the end of material that will be on Monday's exam. The first point was probably the most instructive -- hydrolysis of an amide is EXACTLY the same as hydrolysis of other carboxylic acid derivatives. We also saw examples of biological versions of acid derivatives (thioesters, phosphate esters) and a few examples of reactions involving those species.

The last topic dealt with step-growth polymers. We worked our way through the formation of nylons, starting from diacid halides and diamines. The important point here is that the chemistry is just acid derivative chemistry. In this case, it is the formation of amides from acid halides; all of the chemistry is accessible to those who understand the material in Chapter 21. It is expected that you can determine the nature of the polymer formed in these reactions and be able to draw the structure, using brackets.

A reminder or two: Meagen has moved her hours for tomorrow night back an hour (8 - 10 pm). For the modeling assignment, some of the computers (mostly in the front of the room) use a different release of Spartan (Spartan '04), resulting in a few different screens. Until I get those changes posted, it is better to use the computers at the rear. Just make sure the icon reads "Spartan" and not "Spartan '04" and it'll be OK.

posted by DCChem @ 10:37 AM