Crossed Claisen condensation
Channel: Frostburg State University Chemistry Department
Date: 2018-05-02

If a Claisen condensation is attempted with two different esters, four products will result since each ester can serve as either the nucleophile or the electrophile. The use of LDA with controlled order of addition can accomodate for this challenge, as can using compounds predisposed to either nucleophilicity or electrophilicity.