Oyo Mitsunobu revolutionized the chemistry of alcohols — his 1967 discovery of the Mitsunobu reaction provided a redox-based strategy for nucleophilic substitution at carbon centers bearing hydroxyl groups, which are usually poor leaving groups. After earning his doctorate under Teruaki Mukaiyama at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mitsunobu explored the reactivity of alcohols in nucleoside chemistry. His breakthrough came when he found that a combination of triphenylphosphine and diethyl azod

The Claisen condensation enables the base-promoted formation of β-keto esters from esters bearing α-hydrogens, forging new C–C bonds through enolate attack on an ester carbonyl. Developed by Rainer Ludwig Claisen in the late 19th century, the reaction proceeds through ester enolate formation, carbon–carbon bond formation between two ester units, and subsequent acidic workup to yield the β-dicarbonyl product. Learn. Review. Repeat.

The Baeyer–Villiger oxidation enables the conversion of ketones into esters and cyclic ketones into lactones via oxygen insertion adjacent to the carbonyl group. Developed by Adolf von Baeyer and Victor Villiger in the late 19th century, the reaction proceeds through formation of a Criegee intermediate followed by migratory rearrangement, with group migration governed by migratory aptitude. Learn. Review. Repeat.