Semipinacol rearrangement
The semipinacol rearrangement is a rearrangement reaction in organic chemistry involving a heterosubstituted alcohol of the type R1R2(HO)C–C(X)R3R4. The hetero substituent can be a halogen (Cl, Br, I), a tosylate, a mesylate or a thiol group. This reaction proceeds by removal of the leaving group X forming a carbocation as electron deficient center. One of the adjacent alkyl groups then migrates to the positive carbon in a 1,2-shift. Simultaneously with the shift, a pi bond forms from the oxygen to carbon, assisting in driving the migrating group off its position. The result is a ketone or aldehyde. In another definition all semipinacol rearrangements "share a common reactive species in which an electrophilic carbon center, including but not limited to carbocations, is vicinal to an oxygen-containing carbon and can drive the 1,2-migration of a C–C or C–H bond to terminate the process, generating a carbonyl group ".