The Wittig Reaction - Lab Report

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this experiment is to synthesize trans-9-(2-phenylethenyl) anthracene from benzyltriphenylphosphonium chloride and 9-anthraldehyde through the reaction mechanism recognized as the Wittig Reaction. The Wittig Reaction allows the chemist to synthesize phosphoranes in the lab with relative ease. A more recent and inexpensive version of the reaction is the Wittig-Horner reaction (1).
ABSTRACT
Georg Wittig was a German chemist and Nobel Prize winner in 1979 for the Wittig reaction (1). He was born in Berlin, on June 16, 1897, and died August 26, 1987 (1). Wittig dis…