Encyclopedia

Williamson Synthesis

Williamson synthesis

[′wil·yəm·sən ′sin·thə·səs]
(organic chemistry)
The synthesis of ethers utilizing an alkyl iodide and sodium alcoholate.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Williamson Synthesis

 

in organic chemistry, one of the methods of preparing ethers from alkoxides or phenoxides of alkali metals and alkyl halides:

R - X + Me - OR′→R - O - R→ + MeX

where R is an alkyl, R′ is an alkyl or aryl, Me is an atom of an alkali metal, and X is a halogen atom.

The method was developed by the British chemist A. W. Williamson (1824-1904). Dialkyl sulfates, (RO)2SO2, may be used in place of alkyl halides. Reactions analogous to the Williamson synthesis are used in preparing esters and acid anhydrides.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
Some methods include intramolecular etherification using In[Cl.sub.3] [10], reductive etherification of aldehydes photocatalyze [11], and modifications to conventional Williamson synthesis [12], the most appropriate method for the preparation of symmetrical and unsymmetrical ethers, which involves treating a halide with an alkoxylated derivative or by direct mixture of a halide with KOH solid [13].
Adibnejad, "Solvent-free Williamson synthesis: An efficient, simple, and convenient method for chemoselective etherification of phenols and bisphenols," Synthetic Communications, vol.
An Efficient [K.sub.2]C[O.sub.3]-Promoted Synthesis of 1-Bromo-2-aryloxyethane Derivatives and Evaluation of Larval Mortality against Aedes aegypti
Claisen condensation, Diels-Alder, Grignard, Hoffman rearrangement, Robinson-Schopf, Schotten-Bauman, Swern's oxidation, Ullman Ether synthesis, Williamson synthesis ...
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