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Molecularity, on the other hand, is deduced from the mechanism of an elementary reaction, and is used only in context of an elementary reaction. It is the number of molecules taking part in this reaction. This difference can be illustrated on the reaction between nitric oxide and hydrogen: [11]
An example of a simple chain reaction is the thermal decomposition of acetaldehyde (CH 3 CHO) to methane (CH 4) and carbon monoxide (CO). The experimental reaction order is 3/2, [4] which can be explained by a Rice-Herzfeld mechanism. [5] This reaction mechanism for acetaldehyde has 4 steps with rate equations for each step :
A typical representative organic reaction displaying this mechanism is the chlorination of alcohols with thionyl chloride, or the decomposition of alkyl chloroformates, the main feature is retention of stereochemical configuration. Some examples for this reaction were reported by Edward S. Lewis and Charles E. Boozer in 1952. [2]
For example, p-bromobiphenyl may be prepared from 4-bromoaniline and benzene: [4] BrC 6 H 4 NH 2 + C 6 H 6 → BrC 6 H 4 −C 6 H 5. The reaction offers a wide scope for both diazonium component and arene component but yields are generally low following the original procedure (less than 40%), given the many side-reactions of diazonium salts.
An example of the E1cB reaction mechanism in the degradation of a hemiketal under basic conditions. The E1cB elimination reaction is a type of elimination reaction which occurs under basic conditions, where the hydrogen to be removed is relatively acidic, while the leaving group (such as -OH or -OR) is a relatively poor one.
In practice, a reaction is assumed to be elementary if no reaction intermediates have been detected or need to be postulated to describe the reaction on a molecular scale. [1] An apparently elementary reaction may be in fact a stepwise reaction, i.e. a complicated sequence of chemical reactions, with reaction intermediates of variable lifetimes.
For the 'small rings' (3- and 4- membered), the slow rates is a consequence of angle strain experienced at the transition state. Although three-membered rings are more strained, formation of aziridine is faster than formation of azetidine due to the proximity of the leaving group and nucleophile in the former, which increases the probability that they would meet in a reactive conformation.
An example of a substitution reaction taking place by a so-called borderline mechanism as originally studied by Hughes and Ingold [6] is the reaction of 1-phenylethyl chloride with sodium methoxide in methanol. The reaction rate is found to the sum of S N 1 and S N 2 components with 61% (3,5 M, 70 °C) taking place by the latter.