Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A hydroxide ion acting as a nucleophile in an S N 2 reaction, converting a haloalkane into an alcohol. In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they ...
The nucleophile may be electrically neutral or negatively charged, whereas the substrate is typically neutral or positively charged. An example of nucleophilic substitution is the hydrolysis of an alkyl bromide, R-Br under basic conditions, where the attacking nucleophile is hydroxyl (OH −) and the leaving group is bromide (Br −).
Nucleophile strength is also affected by charge and electronegativity: nucleophilicity increases with increasing negative charge and decreasing electronegativity. For example, OH − is a better nucleophile than water, and I − is a better nucleophile than Br − (in polar protic solvents). In a polar aprotic solvent, nucleophilicity increases ...
In such reactions, the nucleophile is usually electrically neutral or negatively charged, whereas the substrate is typically neutral or positively charged. An example of nucleophilic substitution is the hydrolysis of an alkyl bromide, R−Br, under basic conditions, where the attacking nucleophile is the base OH − and the leaving group is Br −:
An application of HSAB theory is the so-called Kornblum's rule (after Nathan Kornblum) which states that in reactions with ambident nucleophiles (nucleophiles that can attack from two or more places), the more electronegative atom reacts when the reaction mechanism is S N 1 and the less electronegative one in a S N 2 reaction.
For certain nucleophiles, solvolysis reactions are classified. Solvolysis involving water is called hydrolysis. Related terms are alcoholysis and specifically methanolysis , acetolysis, ammonolysis , and aminolysis (alkyl amines). Glycolysis is however an older term for the multistep conversion of glucose to pyruvate.
In the situation where other variables are held constant (nature of the alkyl electrophile, solvent, etc.), a change in nucleophile can lead to a change in the order of reactivity for leaving groups. In the case below, tosylate is the best leaving group when ethoxide is the nucleophile, but iodide and even bromide become better leaving groups ...
When the solvent is also a nucleophile such as dioxane two successive S N 2 reactions take place and the stereochemistry is again retention. With standard S N 1 reaction conditions the reaction outcome is retention via a competing S N i mechanism and not racemization and with pyridine added the result is again inversion. [5] [3]