Wagner rearrangement

noun

Wag·​ner rearrangement

ˈvägnə(r)-

variants or Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement

-ˈmerˌvīn-

: a reaction that is applicable especially to organic compounds containing a neopentyl or similar grouping, that is thought to proceed by way of a carbonium ion, and that involves change of the carbon skeleton (as from pinene to bornyl chloride by hydrogen chloride, from neopentyl iodide to tert-amyl acetate by silver acetate, or from methyl-tert-butyl-carbinol to tetramethyl-ethylene by acids) compare pinacolone

Word History

Etymology

after Georg Wagner 19th century Russian chemist

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