In chemistry, a nucleophilic substitution (SN) is a class of chemical reactions in which an electron-rich chemical species replaces a functional group within another electron-deficient molecule. The molecule that contains the electrophile and the leaving functional group is called the substrate.
An elimination reaction is a type of organic reaction in which two substituents are removed from a molecule in either a one- or two-step mechanism. The one-step mechanism is known as the E2 reaction, and the two-step mechanism is known as the E1 reaction. The numbers refer not to the number of steps in the mechanism, but rather to the kinetics of the reaction: E2 is bimolecular (second-order) while E1 is unimolecular (first-order). In cases where the molecule is able to stabilize an anion but possesses a poor leaving group, a third type of reaction, E1CB, exists. Finally, the pyrolysis of xanthate and acetate esters proceed through an "internal" elimination mechanism, the Ei mechanism.
The unimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN1) reaction is a substitution reaction in organic chemistry. The Hughes-Ingold symbol of the mechanism expresses two properties—"SN" stands for "nucleophilic substitution", and the "1" says that the rate-determining step is unimolecular. Thus, the rate equation is often shown as having first-order dependence on the substrate and zero-order dependence on the nucleophile. This relationship holds for situations where the amount of nucleophile is much greater than that of the intermediate. Instead, the rate equation may be more accurately described using steady-state kinetics. The reaction involves a carbocation intermediate and is commonly seen in reactions of secondary or tertiary alkyl halides under strongly basic conditions or, under strongly acidic conditions, with secondary or tertiary alcohols. With primary and secondary alkyl halides, the alternative SN2 reaction occurs. In inorganic chemistry, the SN1 reaction is often known as the dissociative substitution. This dissociation pathway is well-described by the cis effect. A reaction mechanism was first introduced by Christopher Ingold et al. in 1940. This reaction does not depend much on the strength of the nucleophile, unlike the SN2 mechanism. This type of mechanism involves two steps. The first step is the ionization of alkyl halide in the presence of aqueous acetone or ethyl alcohol. This step provides a carbocation as an intermediate.
In organic chemistry, the oxymercuration reaction is an electrophilic addition reaction that transforms an alkene into a neutral alcohol. In oxymercuration, the alkene reacts with mercuric acetate in aqueous solution to yield the addition of an acetoxymercury group and a hydroxy group across the double bond. Carbocations are not formed in this process and thus rearrangements are not observed. The reaction follows Markovnikov's rule. The oxymercuration part of the reaction involves anti addition of OH group but the demercuration part of the reaction involves free radical mechanism and is not stereospecific, i.e. H and OH may be syn or anti to each other.
In chemistry, a leaving group is defined by the IUPAC as an atom or group of atoms that detaches from the main or residual part of a substrate during a reaction or elementary step of a reaction. However, in common usage, the term is often limited to a fragment that departs with a pair of electrons in heterolytic bond cleavage. In this usage, a leaving group is a less formal but more commonly used synonym of the term nucleofuge. In this context, leaving groups are generally anions or neutral species, departing from neutral or cationic substrates, respectively, though in rare cases, cations leaving from a dicationic substrate are also known.
A carbocation is an ion with a positively charged carbon atom. Among the simplest examples are the methenium CH+
3, methanium CH+
5, acylium ions RCO+, and vinyl C
2H+
3 cations.
The bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) is a type of reaction mechanism that is common in organic chemistry. In the SN2 reaction, a strong nucleophile forms a new bond to an sp3-hybridised carbon atom via a backside attack, all while the leaving group detaches from the reaction center in a concerted fashion.
A substitution reaction is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions are of prime importance in organic chemistry. Substitution reactions in organic chemistry are classified either as electrophilic or nucleophilic depending upon the reagent involved, whether a reactive intermediate involved in the reaction is a carbocation, a carbanion or a free radical, and whether the substrate is aliphatic or aromatic. Detailed understanding of a reaction type helps to predict the product outcome in a reaction. It also is helpful for optimizing a reaction with regard to variables such as temperature and choice of solvent.
In chemistry, solvolysis is a type of nucleophilic substitution (SN1/SN2) or elimination where the nucleophile is a solvent molecule. Characteristic of SN1 reactions, solvolysis of a chiral reactant affords the racemate. Sometimes however, the stereochemical course is complicated by intimate ion pairs, whereby the leaving anion remains close to the carbocation, effectively shielding it from an attack by the nucleophile. Particularly fast reactions can occur by neighbour group participation, with nonclassical ions as intermediates or transition states.
In chemistry, SNi refers to a specific, regio-selective but not often encountered reaction mechanism for nucleophilic aliphatic substitution. The name was introduced by Cowdrey et al. in 1937 to label nucleophilic reactions which occur with retention of configuration, but later was employed to describe various reactions that proceed with a similar mechanism.
A carbenium ion is a positive ion with the structure RR′R″C+, that is, a chemical species with carbon atom having three covalent bonds, and it bears a +1 formal charge. Carbenium ions are a major subset of carbocations, which is a general term for diamagnetic carbon-based cations. In parallel with carbenium ions is another subset of carbocations, the carbonium ions with the formula R5+. In carbenium ions charge is localized. They are isoelectronic with monoboranes such as B(CH3)3.
In organic chemistry, the term 2-norbornyl cation describes a carbonium ionic derivative of norbornane. A salt of the 2-norbornyl cation was crystallized and characterized by X-ray crystallography confirmed the non-classical structure.
The Prins reaction is an organic reaction consisting of an electrophilic addition of an aldehyde or ketone to an alkene or alkyne followed by capture of a nucleophile or elimination of an H+ ion. The outcome of the reaction depends on reaction conditions. With water and a protic acid such as sulfuric acid as the reaction medium and formaldehyde the reaction product is a 1,3-diol (3). When water is absent, the cationic intermediate loses a proton to give an allylic alcohol (4). With an excess of formaldehyde and a low reaction temperature the reaction product is a dioxane (5). When water is replaced by acetic acid the corresponding esters are formed.
An oxocarbeniumion is a chemical species characterized by a central sp2-hybridized carbon, an oxygen substituent, and an overall positive charge that is delocalized between the central carbon and oxygen atoms. An oxocarbenium ion is represented by two limiting resonance structures, one in the form of a carbenium ion with the positive charge on carbon and the other in the form of an oxonium species with the formal charge on oxygen. As a resonance hybrid, the true structure falls between the two. Compared to neutral carbonyl compounds like ketones or esters, the carbenium ion form is a larger contributor to the structure. They are common reactive intermediates in the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds, and are a commonly used strategy for chemical glycosylation. These ions have since been proposed as reactive intermediates in a wide range of chemical transformations, and have been utilized in the total synthesis of several natural products. In addition, they commonly appear in mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed biosynthesis and hydrolysis of carbohydrates in nature. Anthocyanins are natural flavylium dyes, which are stabilized oxocarbenium compounds. Anthocyanins are responsible for the colors of a wide variety of common flowers such as pansies and edible plants such as eggplant and blueberry.
Arrow pushing or electron pushing is a technique used to describe the progression of organic chemistry reaction mechanisms. It was first developed by Sir Robert Robinson. In using arrow pushing, "curved arrows" or "curly arrows" are drawn on the structural formulae of reactants in a chemical equation to show the reaction mechanism. The arrows illustrate the movement of electrons as bonds between atoms are broken and formed. Arrow pushing never directly show the movement of atoms; it is used to show the movement of electron density, which indirectly shows the movement of atoms themselves. Arrow pushing is also used to describe how positive and negative charges are distributed around organic molecules through resonance. It is important to remember, however, that arrow pushing is a formalism and electrons do not move around so neatly and discretely in reality.
The vinyl cation is a carbocation with the positive charge on an alkene carbon. Its empirical formula of the parent ion is C
2H+
3. Vinyl cation are invoked as reactive intermediates in solvolysis of vinyl halides, as well as electrophilic addition to alkynes and allenes.
In chemistry, solvent effects are the influence of a solvent on chemical reactivity or molecular associations. Solvents can have an effect on solubility, stability and reaction rates and choosing the appropriate solvent allows for thermodynamic and kinetic control over a chemical reaction.
Carbonyl α-substitution reactions occur at the position next to the carbonyl group, the α-position, and involves the substitution of an α-hydrogen by an electrophile through either an enol or enolate ion intermediate.
2-Chlorobutane is a compound with formula C4H9Cl. It is also called sec-butyl chloride. It is a colorless, volatile liquid at room temperature that is not miscible in water.
Hydrogen-bridged cations are a type of charged species in which a hydrogen atom is simultaneously bonded to two atoms through partial sigma bonds. While best observable in the presence of superacids at room temperature, spectroscopic evidence has suggested that hydrogen-bridged cations exist in ordinary solvents. These ions have been the subject of debate as they constitute a type of charged species of uncertain electronic structure.
