Wittig reaction

Definition

The Wittig reaction is a chemical process used in organic chemistry to synthesize alkenes from aldehydes or ketones by reacting them with phosphorus ylides. This reaction proceeds through the nucleophilic addition of a phosphorus ylide to the carbonyl group, followed by elimination to form the alkene.

Related terms

Alkenes: Hydrocarbons that contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond, recognized for their role as basic building blocks in organic synthesis.

Phosphorus Ylides: Compounds containing phosphorus attached to a carbon atom, which bears a positive and negative charge on adjacent atoms, making them highly reactive towards carbonyl compounds.

Carbonyl Group: A functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom (C=O), central in various organic reactions including nucleophilic additions