Experiment 10: Wittig Reaction – Synthesis of Trans-9-(2-phenylethenyl)anthracene
Noaman Ali
Jihad Elayman
Kylie Briant-Rider
CHM 2211L.907
Aleksandra Karolak
Introduction
The Wittig reaction is a common reaction used to create alkenes from aldehydes. The
mechanism uses a phosphorous ylide wittig reagent in order to attack the carbonyl of the
aldehyde and form the alkene. The wittig reagent is usually prepared by treating a phosphonium
salt with a strong base as shown in Figure 1. (1)
The nucleophilic reagent will then attack the carbonyl and form an alkoxide (Betaine
