Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner
(to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic")
Take a ketone carbonyl and then react with hydrazine.
It forms a hydrazone, of course, and water leaves the scene.
An NH from the NH2, hydroxide will attack.
Resonance occurs and then the carbon grabs H back.
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Reduce the carbonyl and then the side-chain now is plain.
Hydroxide base is still present, it steals the
last H plus.
Now add a little heat, the N2 leaves without a fuss.
The carbon gets a hydrogen producing an alkane.
Now the carbon chain is plain.
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Glory, Glory, It's Wolff-Kischner!
Reduce the carbonyl and then the side-chain now is plain.
by Kristy Bruno, Val Stetts, Tracy Albrecht 6 May 1996 edited by Professor
Casteel
