From: Andrew Garrett <garretta2**At_Symbol_Here**BEREA.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Safer Diels-Alder reaction
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2019 15:59:54 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: DM6PR16MB247622A56804CFB5175B2522E1CB0**At_Symbol_Here**DM6PR16MB2476.namprd16.prod.outlook.com
In-Reply-To


Kendra,

 

There are a few Diels-Alder labs we used to run at EKU.  Check out eku_chem_lab on youtube for some videos to see if you like any of those options.  One uses reflux in water and another uses microwave synthesis.

 

Andrew Garrett, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Berea College

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Denlinger, Kendra
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2019 10:41 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Safer Diels-Alder reaction

 

[EXTERNAL SENDER]

Hello everyone,

I'm teaching an organic lab right now (my first time teaching this course), and we're supposed to do a Diels-Alder reaction in a few weeks. It's a reaction between cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride, and the students are supposed to "crack" dicyclopentadiene to cyclopentadiene using a distillation with mineral oil, and then react cyclopentadiene with maleic anhydride in ethyl acetate (which is a very exothermic reaction). Long story short, the whole thing sounds like an accident waiting to happen. 

 

I know there has got to be a safer (and maybe even greener!) Diels-Alder reaction out there for organic lab students, but I don't know exactly where to look and thought maybe it would be a good question for all of you! I don't have a long time to search and test things, so if someone has a Diels-Alder procedure you use at your university that works and is safer, I would love to hear about it!

 

Thanks for any assistance!

Kendra Denlinger

 

Kendra Leahy Denlinger, Ph.D.

Adjunct Faculty

Department of Chemistry

Xavier University

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