Wittig reactions are useful in preparing alkenes from aldehydes or ketones,. A greener approach to this is mechanically grinding the reagents with a mortar and pestle. A research was performed to determine the effects that each component provided to the overall reaction. The independent variables of this study were carbonyl types, phosphonium ylide stability, and type of base. The variables kept constant were the temperature, the type of mortar and pestle, and the duration of each reaction. It was found that reactions that involved ketone carbonyl, or unstable phosphonium ylides did not react, and that the stronger base does not change the reactivity but will activate the phosphonium ylide faster.<br/>

Solventless Wittig reaction

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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