Classification of organic reaction

Organic chemistry has a strong tradition of naming a specific reaction to its inventor or inventors and a long list of so-called named reactions exists, conservatively estimated at 1000. A very old named reaction is the Claisen rearrangement (1912) and a recent named reaction is the Bingel reaction (1993). When the named reaction is difficult to pronounce or very long as in the Corey-House-Posner-Whitesides reaction it helps to use the abbreviation as in the CBS reduction. The number of reactions hinting at the actual process taking place is much smaller, for example the ene reaction or aldol reaction.

• Another approach to organic reactions is by type of organic reagent, many of them inorganic, required in a specific transformation. The major types are oxidizing agents such as osmium tetroxide, reducing agents such as Lithium aluminium hydride, bases such as lithium diisopropylamide and acids such as sulfuric acid.