Talk:Alpha elimination

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Just organometallic?[edit]

Is this just an organometallic process? I think a number of organic elimination reactions also use this term. --Project Osprey (talk) 22:14, 4 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe I acted too quickly. It is an organometallic theme, but thanks to your nudge, I guess I should expand the article to organic as well. March's organic "bible" has a chapter on beta-elimination, says this about alpha-eliimination

"CHAPTER 17

Eliminations

When two groups are lost from adjacent atoms so that a new double (or triple) bond is formed the reaction is called beta-elimination; one atom is the alpha, the other the beta atom. In an alpha elimination, both groups are lost from the same atom to give a carbene (or a nitrene)"

Alpha-eliminations are not mentioned again, but beta-eliminations are mentioned 700x. I revised the article to give weight to the organic angle. If necessary, my entire venture can be reverted. Thank you very much for helping out. --Smokefoot (talk) 00:05, 5 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I first encountered the term in an organic sense for the generation of dichlorocarbene from chloroform in the Reimer–Tiemann reaction. I admit that it's quite niche. There probably aren't many other examples, most carbanions tend to just be nucleophiles - or so I hear. --Project Osprey (talk) 00:29, 5 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]