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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 −).
The terms nucleophile and electrophile are sometimes interchangeable with Lewis base and Lewis acid, respectively. These terms, especially their abstract noun forms nucleophilicity and electrophilicity , emphasize the kinetic aspect of reactivity, while the Lewis basicity and Lewis acidity emphasize the thermodynamic aspect of Lewis adduct ...
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 up a column of the periodic table as there is no hydrogen bonding between the solvent and nucleophile; in this case nucleophilicity mirrors basicity.
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.
Others, however, insist that such a usage is an abuse of terminology, and limit the Michael addition to the formation of carbon–carbon bonds through the addition of carbon nucleophiles. The terms oxa-Michael reaction and aza-Michael reaction [2] have been used to refer to the 1,4-addition of oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles, respectively. The ...
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The nucleophile is polarised and oriented by the base, which is itself bound and stabilised by the acid. [24] Catalysis is performed in two stages. First, the activated nucleophile attacks the carbonyl carbon and forces the carbonyl oxygen to accept an electron pair, leading to a tetrahedral intermediate. The resulting build-up of negative ...