As an ACS-sponsored undergraduate, I spent the summer learning the ways of the graduate organic chemists at Leibniz University in Hanover, Germany. There I researched the potential application of inductively heated flow chemistry to better perform the Claisen rearrangement, an industrially powerful reaction with the ability to form a new sigma carbon-carbon bond and hydroxyl group when applied to allyl phenyl ethers. Three ally phenyl ethers with different substitutions—an acetyl group, chlorine, and methyl acetate—were investigated. Herein, I report my results regarding the relationship between reactor conditions and yields of the three reactions. This preliminary study lays the groundwork for future research on the Claisen rearrangement in flow chemistry, pointing to the importance of high back-pressure to allow temperatures upwards of 300°C to be reached without solvent vaporization. In addition to my academic experience, I will be discussing the cultural bridge and personal maturation that occurred as a scientist in another country.

Collaboration in Germany: Bench-top flow reactors and a little bit of curry

251st National Meeting (2016)

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