ever freaked out when u saw the weird alphabets written on top of the arrow in ur organic chem paper ... iv collected 5 of them here, hope it helps !

 

 

lets start off with the easy ones -

 

 

 

1) NBS - N-Bromosuccinimide- (a brominating agent)

 

used in radical substitution and electrophilic addition reactions... is a convenient source of molecular bromine ...

 

there are about 5-6 major reactions, visit -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-Bromosuccinimide

 

 

 

 

2) THF - Tetra hydro furan (a solvent)

 

 

THF is an aprotic solvent with a dielectric constant of 7.6. It is a moderately polar, aprotic solvent that dissolves a wide range of nonpolar and polar compounds.

 

THF can often be substituted for diethyl ether when a higher-boiling solvent is required.

 

used as solvent fr grignard reagents, and in hydroborations to prepare primary alcohol...

 

more info- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THF

 

 

 

now the more difficult ones ...

 

 

 

3) DMSO - dimethyl sulfoxide ( a solvent )

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is the chemical compound with the formula (CH₃)₂SO. This colorless liquid is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds

   

 Because of its excellent solvating power, DMSO is frequently used as solvent for chemical reactions involving salts. Because DMSO is only weakly acidic, it tolerates relatively strong bases.

 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_sulfoxide

 

 

 

4) DME - (another solvent !)

 

Dimethoxyethane, also known as glyme, monoglyme, dimethyl glycol, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dimethyl cellosolve, and DME, is a clear, colorless, aprotic, and liquid ether that is used as a solvent.

 

 

 

 

5) DIglyme (yet another solvent !!!)

 

Diglyme, or bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether, is a solvent with a high boiling point. It is an organic compound which is the dimethyl ether of diethylene glycol. (The name "diglyme" is a portmanteau of "diglycol methyl ether.")

 

It has the ability to chelate small cations, leaving anions more active. Therefore, reactions involving organometallic reagents, such as Grignard reactions or metal hydride reductions, may have significantly enhanced reaction rates.

Diglyme is also used as a solvent in hydroboration reactions with diborane.

 

 

 

 

plzz rate if useful !! and add sum more if u can :)

 

 

 

 

click on the images to view them ...

there are a lotta similar lookin reactions in prepn of amines involving isocyanate intmdt (coz u can hydrolyze that to amine) -

 

hoffmann - amide to isocyanate usin NaOH and Br2, then amine

schmidt - carb acid + N3H to isocyanate givin amine

lossen - hydroxamic acid to isocyanate to amine