Organic Synthesis Laboratory

The course aims to provide students with the basic tools to operate safely and profitably in an organic synthesis laboratory. The learning objectives of the course are the following:
- to present and implement the safety and prevention rules in a chemical laboratory, with particular reference to the rules of behaviour, use and handling of chemical substances and waste disposal;
- to introduce the main basic techniques of organic synthesis for executing organic reactions and isolating reaction products using the main purification methods (filtration, extraction, crystallization, distillation, thin layer and column chromatography, High Performance Liquid Chromatography);
- to recall basic concepts of the main analytical techniques applied to organic synthesis and, in particular, to the structural determination of small molecules (melting point, infrared spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance);
- to introduce multi-step organic synthesis, through the conduction of short reaction sequences, involving the chemistry of aliphatic, aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds, carried out as much as possible according to sustainability criteria;
- to accustom students to independent work, also through the implementation of differentiated reactions for individual students.

At the end of the course, the student must:
- have consolidated his/her knowledge of safety and prevention rules in a chemical laboratory and of the basic techniques of organic synthesis;
- be able to conduct a synthesis reaction, independently carrying out preliminary stoichiometric calculations, instrumentation set-up, reaction progress control, isolation of the reaction crude, purification of the product and finally its structural determination;
- have acquired a correct method for reporting the experimental data of what was done in the laboratory and the results obtained;
- have acquired decision-making autonomy and correct time management in the laboratory, defining priorities and knowing how to deal with any unforeseen events in the execution of the various activities;
- be adequately prepared to attend a research laboratory, albeit with the supervision of experts.