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Normal bases are also nucleophiles, but often chemists seek the proton-removing ability of a base without any other functions. Typical non-nucleophilic bases are bulky, such that protons can attach to the basic center but alkylation and complexation is inhibited.
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.
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 are Lewis bases. Nucleophilic describes the affinity of a nucleophile to bond with positively charged ...
with regards to acid-base reactions, electron-rich species have high pKa's and react with weak Lewis acids. [ 4 ] with regards to nucleophilic substitution reactions , electron-rich species are relatively strong nucleophiles, as judged by rates of attack by electrophiles.
Thus, organolithium reagents are strongly basic and nucleophilic. Some of the most common applications of organolithium reagents in synthesis include their use as nucleophiles, strong bases for deprotonation, initiator for polymerization, and starting material for the preparation of other organometallic compounds.
The methoxide anion, for example, is both a strong base and nucleophile because it is a methyl nucleophile, and is thus very much unhindered. tert -Butoxide , on the other hand, is a strong base, but a poor nucleophile, because of its three methyl groups hindering its approach to the carbon.
Nevertheless, one can generally examine acid dissociation constants to qualitatively predict or rationalize rate or reactivity trends relating to variation of the leaving group. Consistent with this picture, strong bases such as OH −, OR 2 and NR − 2 tend to make poor leaving groups, due their inability to stabilize a negative charge.
Organometallic compounds of electropositive metals are superbases, but they are generally strong nucleophiles. Examples include organolithium and organomagnesium ( Grignard reagent ) compounds. Another type of organometallic superbase has a reactive metal exchanged for a hydrogen on a heteroatom , such as oxygen (unstabilized alkoxides ) or ...