Heuristic Chemistry—Elimination Reactions

AbstractBesides additions and substitutions, elimination reactions play a fundamental role in organic synthesis. However, conceptual reviews of known 1,x‐elimination patterns that go beyond the typical olefin‐forming 1,2‐eliminations are scarce. To develop a broader understanding of elimination reactions, we follow a heuristic approach and deduce recurrent reaction patterns from traditional and specific elimination reactions. Our work demonstrates that 1,x‐elimination reactions and their outcomes can be easily rationalized by defined mnemonic categories.