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Chemistry and Biochemistry: Organic Chemistry

This guide shows online and print resources related to chemistry and biochemistry.

Intro

Are you taking Organic Chemistry? This page is for you! This page includes some of the most frequently asked questions I have received from students.

Please always feel free to ask questions. Always happy to help. --Jeff Bond. Email: j.bond@tcu.edu

Help! I need help getting into SciFinder

Click here to get to SciFinder. This will work both on-campus and off-campus. It is important to note that if you are off-campus, it is not normally sufficient to just use Google to get to SciFInder -- using a link on one of the library's webpages will work.

Still not working? I recommend clearing out all browser cache and cookies and trying again. If it is still not working, then trying a different browser is also helpful.

If it is still not working then please reach out to me at j.bond@tcu.edu. Happy to help.

How do I find a melting point?

SciFinder is a great way to find chemical properties, including melting points and boiling points.

  1. Type the name of the substance into SciFinder
  2. Choose your compound from the result list
  3. Select “Experimental properties.” Be aware that “Predicted Properties” are not acceptable for assignments in Organic Chemistry at TCU.
  4. Choose the type of property. For example, for melting points, choose “Thermal.”
  5. Find the melting point in the table.

Look at the next box on this guide to get help in finding a journal article that reports the melting point.

There are other ways to find chemical properties besides SciFinder. Here are some other databases that have melting points:

In SciFinder, how do I find the article that contains the melting point?

One you have found a melting point within SciFinder, you will also need to find the article that contains the melting point. Follow these additional steps.

  1. In the table of melting points in SciFinder, look to the right for the number in parentheses. Click on the number.
  2. In the list of references, click on the one that corresponds to the number.
  3. On the next screen, you will see a summary of the article. Click on “Full Text” and then “Via TCU Library.”

Find the article and look at the PDF. The melting point will be in the article. On occasion, an article will have multiple PDFs, some of which may be labeled “Supplemental data.” Check all the PDFs for the melting point.

How do I find Spectra?

One good way is to use SciFinder.

  1. Type the name of the substance into SciFinder.
  2. Choose your compound from the result list.
  3. Select “Experimental Spectra.” Be aware that “Predicted Spectra” are not acceptable for assignments in Organic Chemistry at TCU.
  4. Choose the type of spectra. For example, 1HNMR or IR.
  5. In the list of spectra, look to the right hand side for the journal articles or other sources that report the spectra.

Here are some other resources that have spectra:

How do I find lists of derivatives for a compound, if I know the functional group?

  1. Use a table of derivatives. Books such as The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds by Hermann, or CRC Handbook of Tables for Organic Compound Identification by Rappoport have lists of derivatives for significant organic compounds. Links below.
  2. Find the table that corresponds to the class of your compound. For example, there will be a table of keytones, another for amides.
  3. Each table is ordered by melting (or boiling point) of the compound. Find the compounds corresponding to your melting point (or boiling point).
  4. Look to the right to see derivatives and their melting points.

How do I find a derivative of a known compound using SciFinder?

  1. In SciFinder, type in the name of the known compound.
  2. Choose your compound in the result list.
  3. Look at the compound’s structure drawing. Draw it on a piece of paper.
  4. Using the textbook The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds by Shriner, look through Chapter 10. It will show you how to modify your drawing in order to draw the derivative.
  5. Using SciFinder, click on Draw and then draw the derivative structure. Click OK, then “Search.”
  6. Find your substance in the result list. This is a good way to find the melting point of the derivative, also.

How do I find an article that talks about fluorescent dyes?

Some assignments require you to find an article that has information about a fluorescent dye.

In SciFinder, click on the References tab at the top. Enter "fluorescent dye" in the first search box -- the quote marks are important. Now, click on the Magnifying Glass icon to initiate the search. You will now see many articles that refer to fluorescent dyes.

If you need to search for articles about fluorescent dyes and another concept, you can do that, too. Start out like before and put "fluorescent dye" in the first search box. Put your additional search topic in the second box. Important-- For the second search box, make sure you select Abstract/keywords in the drop-down box before initiating your search.

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