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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 carbonylation of methanol with carbon monoxide to methyl formate (methyl methanoate) is catalyzed by strong bases, such as potassium methoxide. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The main application of potassium methoxide is use as basic transesterification catalyst in biodiesel synthesis (as a 25-32% methanolic solution).
For example, NH 3 is a Lewis base, because it can donate its lone pair of electrons. Trimethylborane [(CH 3) 3 B] is a Lewis acid as it is capable of accepting a lone pair. In a Lewis adduct, the Lewis acid and base share an electron pair furnished by the Lewis base, forming a dative bond. [1]
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 −).
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.
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.
For example, protonation of methanol gives an electrophilic methylating reagent that reacts by the S N 2 pathway: CH 3 OH + H + → [CH 3 OH 2] + Similarly, methyl iodide and methyl triflate are viewed as the equivalent of the methyl cation because they readily undergo S N 2 reactions by weak nucleophiles. The methyl cation has been detected in ...
The resulting thiolate anion is a strong nucleophile. It can be oxidized to dimethyl disulfide: 2CH 3 SH + [O] → CH 3 SSCH 3 + H 2 O. Further oxidation takes the disulfide to two molecules of methanesulfonic acid, which is odorless. Bleach deodorizes methanethiol in this way.