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Finding reaction and property information for organic compounds
Reaction information
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Essential Reagents for Organic SynthesisThis volume includes the 52 most widely used reagents in organic synthesis. Descriptions include a brief description of all important reactions for which the reagent is being used, including yields and reaction conditions, an overview of the physical properties of the reagent, its storage conditions, safe handling, laboratory synthesis and purification methods. Advantages and disadvantages of the reagent compared to alternative synthesis methods are also discussed.
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Organic SynthesesOnline access to classic reference work giving detailed synthetic methods. Procedures are independently checked and safety warnings given if warranted. More recent entries tend to describe preparation of compound classes. Structure searchable.
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Science of SynthesisScience of Synthesis is a compendium of evaluated synthetic methods for organic and organometallic chemistry. We have access to the Science of Synthesis Backlist (2002 – 2008); Knowledge Updates (2009-2015); and Reference Libraries (2009-2015) (see the Books tab). The Houben–Weyl Methods of Molecular Transformations Backfile (1909 -2001) is accessible via the Book Series tab. Note that many of the Houben-Weyl Archive articles are in German. You may browse the table of contents of individual volumes or search by keyword and limit by facet.
Chemical and physical property information
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Tutorial: How to Find Chemical and Physical Property InformationFinding chemical and physical property data is not always easy because there is no one place where all types of data for all substances is located, and it is not always clear where to look or whether you have looked in the right places. This tutorial will show you how and where to search.
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Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and BiologicalsClassic reference source for chemists with over 10,000 entries on drugs and pharmaceuticals, common organic chemicals and laboratory reagents. The entries include data such as chemical names, molecular formula, chemical structure, physical data, and literature references.
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Properties of Organic CompoundsSubstructure-searchable database (with plug-in) that includes physical and spectral data and structures for more than 29,000 commonly-used organic compounds.
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Property Data for Chemicals and MaterialsFind additional sources of chemical and physical property data, spectra, and thermodynamic properties as well as safety information.
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SDBS (Spectral Database for Organic Compounds)Free online searchable database with spectral data for over 34,000 organic molecules for electron impact Mass spectrum (EI-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), laser Raman, and electron spin resonance (ESR)) spectra. Hosted by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan
Finding research articles in organic chemistry
Articles are the primary way scientists communicate research results. Use an article index or database to find articles on your topic; the citation includes article information like article title, author, journal name, issue, year, and the abstract.
When you are starting to delve into a new subject, review articles are your best friends. Most article databases will allow you to limit your search just to this type of publication or document. The long reference lists in review articles are also a good way to identify key articles.
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Tutorial: Using citations to find journal articles and booksLearn how to use citations in journal articles to identify other relevant articles and books and use Libraries Search to find them.
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Reaxys (Chemistry)Provides access to chemical structure, reaction, and property information on organic, inorganic, and organometallic compounds; its contents are derived from Beilstein (organic compounds) and Gmelin (inorganic and organometallic compounds), which date to the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as selected English-language chemical patents.
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SciFinderSciFinder is one of the best databases for topics related to chemistry and adjacent fields. It includes journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and patents. Find substance and reaction information as well as suppliers and chemical regulatory data.
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Web of ScienceA comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of journal article citations. Subjects generally covered are within science and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
Web of Science is particularly useful for finding references that cite older literature as it goes back to 1900.
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Tutorial: How to read and comprehend scientific research articlesLearn tips on how to read a scientific article, how to find the main points of the article, and how to take effective notes.
Off-campus access to library journals and databases
In addition to going through links on the library website, we have 2 other ways to access resources from off-campus.
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Proxy Bookmarklet for off-campus accessAdd this button to your browser toolbar and click on it to reload a page and authenticate as a U of M user.
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Virtual Private Network (VPN)Download and log in to VPN before accessing resources
Last Updated: Jul 28, 2025 3:18 PM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/CHEM/4321