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3.2A: Reagent Purification

  • Page ID
    96650
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    \(\ce{N}\)-bromosuccinimide (NBS) is a reagent used for benzylic and allylic radical bromination, among other things. It is commonly found in its reagent jar as a yellow or orange solid (Figure 3.3a), as over time the solid degrades and generates \(\ce{Br_2}\), the source of the color. Before use, NBS should be crystallized from hot water, and the resulting crystals are pure white (Figure 3.3c). If NBS were used without previous crystallization, yields would undoubtedly suffer as the quantity of active reagent would be unknown, and side produces might form due to the presence of excess bromine.

    Figure 3.3: a) An old sample of \(\ce{N}\)-bromosuccinimide (NBS), b) Crystallization of NBS using hot water, c) Crystallized NBS.

    This page titled 3.2A: Reagent Purification is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lisa Nichols via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.