Question

What substituted alkene would you use in the Heck reaction to make the following products?

Short answer

⦁ The substituted alkene used in the first reaction is

⦁ The substituted alkene used in the second reaction is

Step-by-step solution

Heck Reaction

Heck reaction is the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of alkene to arene or other alkenes. This reaction follows a catalytic cycle mechanism around the role of palladium.

Heck reaction has a relatively high functional group tolerance, which means the other sidereaction doesn't happen with a palladium catalyst.

Subpart (a) Alkene used to get the desired product:

In the product, the methyl acrylate alkene is coupled with the reactant in presence of a palladium catalyst to get the desired product.

Here, methyl acrylate forms the desired product.

Subpart (b) Alkene is used get the desired product:

The acrylonitrile alkene is coupled with the reactant in presence of a palladium catalyst to get the desired product.

Here, Acrylonitrile alkene forms the desired product.