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What do epoxides do?

Answer 1

Just to retire this question....

Epoxides are a good general way to extend a carbon chain by two carbons through a reaction with a Grignard or lithium reagent (see this old answer)...

#underbrace(C_2H_4O)_"the epoxide" +R^(-)Li^(+) rarr underbrace(RCH_2CH_2O^(-)Li^+)_"the alkoxide"#

Two additional carbons have been added to the carbon chain, and as a bonus, the last carbon has been functionalized to allow for more possibilities.

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Answer 2

Ella Allen

Epoxides are reactive molecules that can undergo various chemical reactions. They are commonly used in organic synthesis to introduce oxygen-containing functional groups into molecules, such as alcohols and ethers. Epoxides can participate in ring-opening reactions, nucleophilic substitution reactions, and acid-catalyzed reactions, among others. Additionally, epoxides are important intermediates in the synthesis of various organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and polymers.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.