Organocatalytic Cyclopropanation of (<i>E</i>)-Dec-2-enal: Synthesis, Spectral Analysis and Mechanistic Understanding

Abstract

An undergraduate experiment combining synthesis, NMR analysis and mechanistic understanding is reported. The students perform an organocatalyzed cyclopropanation reaction of (E)-dec-2-enal and are then required to determine the diastereoselectivity and assign the relative configuration of each product using NMR spectroscopy.