Enjoying the Art of Synthesis
Weaknesses and strong points of a synthesis (plan) become apparent by comparing several syntheses of the same target. Such a comparison highlights surprising solutions—the art of synthesis—in contrast to standard approaches.
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Enjoying the Art of Synthesis
Abstract Weaknesses and strong points of a synthesis (plan) become apparent by comparing several syntheses of the same target. Such a comparison highlights surprising solutions—the art of synthesis—in contrast to standard approaches.
The planning of syntheses is in the middle of a transformation from an art into a technique. When confronted with targets of unusual structure, surprising solutions are still called for. This means that at any time creative and artistic synthesis schemes have to be put forward, when the systematic (scholastic) approach fails or turns out to be too lengthy. Art contributes to and is part of culture, which you may (and should) enjoy. The same can be said of exemplary syntheses. After having looked at various systematic ways to deal with the problems of planning a synthesis, pointing out the art in outstanding syntheses is the best conclusion. In order to truly enjoy art, one must be knowledgeable about art. A first glance at a painting of Picasso or of Klee will arouse one’s interest in the kind of presentation at a superficial level. Only continuing exposure to modern art will let one recognize certain recurring details and patterns in paintings of Picasso or Klee, because one’s eyes have been trained by the preceding studies. To see more and to recognize more is what makes looking at pictures enjoyable. The same holds for those who have studied the underlying concepts of synthesis planning and now look at published syntheses. The reader who has made his or her way through this treatise should be knowledgeable enough to recognize many familiar aspects that were presented in the preceding chapters. With the insight gained in this manner, one should be able to discern creative syntheses from boring ones, i.e., to enjoy the real art of synthesis. To this end, there follows a compilation of syntheses, each of which has some remarkable feature. The reader is encouraged to rediscover familiar elements and to examine in depth the way the synthesis was conceived. As the guide in an art museum helps the visitor to appreciate the features of the
R.W. Hoffmann, Elements of Synthesis Planning, c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-79220-8 11,
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11 Enjoying the Art of Synthesis
masterpieces on display, our comments should help the reader’s appreciation of the following examples of outstanding synthesis.
11.1 Strychnine Strychnine was declared by Robinson to be the most complex compound relative to its size [1]. The elucidation of the structure of strychnine, in a period in which neither NMR-spectroscopy nor X-ray crystal structure analysis were available, constitutes one of the eminent cultural achievements of chemistry. The challenge of its synthesis could not have been accepted by a person of lesser standing than R. B.Woodward, who in the middle of the last century was beyond dispute the genius of synthesis. Woodward succeeded in the first synthesis of strychnine (Scheme 11.1) [2]. This benchmark synthesis appears by today’s s
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