midterm 1 Flashcards
ch. 9, 10, 14
nucleophilic substitution
-nucleophile swaps places w/ the leaving group
-must be sp^3 carbon for nucleophilic substitution to occur
beta-elimination reactions
-strong base grabs H from the beta carbon
-the bond from H form alkene between beta carbon
-beta carbon is the carbon adjacent to the carbon that is attached to the halogen
-alpha carbon is carbon attached to halogen
-two things determine whether we see elimination or substitution: 1) nature of nucleophile/base 2) nature of leaving group compound
nucelophilic substitution equilibria: favors release of weaker base
-the side that is favored is the side that has a weaker base forming
-how to determine weaker base: 1) look at the pKa of the conjugate acid 2) if the pKa is low, then it is very acidic meaning that the conjugate base is weak
-if a weaker base is on the reactants side of the equation, the reaction doesn’t proceed forward
-for reactions with conjugate acids that have similar pKa values, you can add something like acetone that precipitates one of the conjugate acids which allows the reaction to proceed forward
leaving group priority
-better leaving groups: I (great weak base)>Br>Cl>F (ok weak base and not good LG)
reaction rate depend on rate laws
-rate laws that are unimolecular are fast (units are Ms^-1)
-rate laws that are bimolecular are slower (units are Ms^-1)
-one example of bimolecular is SN2 (S means substitution, N means nucleophilic, 2 means bimolecular)
SN2 mechanism: “inversion”
-SN2 always has to have OPPOSITE configuration (ex. R changes to S or vice versa) to occur
-backside attack must occur
leaving group as electrophiles
-more substituents (alkyl groups) on alpha carbon means SLOWER SN2 rate (called alpha branch)
-more substituents (alkyl groups) on beta carbon also means SLOWER SN2 rate (called beta branch)
nucelophiles in periodic table (row)
-across row/across period: as we go left, nucleophilic basicity of the leaving group INCREASES (SN2 rate also increases)
-basicity is proportional to SN2 rule
nucleophiles in periodic table (column)
-as you go up the column, nucelophilic basicity of the leaving group INCREASES while SN2 rate DECREASES
-as you go up, H-bonding increases as well
-H-bonding disrupts nucleophilicity (when something is good at H-bonding, it is gonna be a bad leaving group and not as weak a base)
nucleophile overview+ energy
-in a row, nucleophilicity is proportional to basicity (increase basicity, increase rate)
- in column, least basic is the BEST nucleophile
-lower energy barrier=faster rate (less energy to get to the top of the hill)
elimination reaction (E2)
-mechanism: nucleophile leaves, bond from H that left becomes double bond, nucleophile takes away the H
-in E2, nucleophile and leaving group are 180 degrees apart
-you have to have a beta-H to do elimination
-stereochemistry must be reflected in alkene product (should be opposite face so backside attack)
-regiochemistry: more substituted alkene is favored because its more stable (this will form in the major product)
-magnitude of product isn’t important
SN2 vs. E2
-bulkier nucleophiles: have slower SN2 (E2 is MORE likely)
-less basic nucleophiles: SN2 is favored over E2
-primary leaving group: usually SN2 (depends on leaving group ability and branching)
-secondary leaving group: mixture of SN2 and E2
-tertiary leaving group: if beta H is available, E2 is favored over SN2
E1 and SN1
-E1 and SN1 are usually neutral or acidic conditions
-however, SN2 and E2 are usually BASIC conditions and have negative charge
-for SN1 and E1, tertiary»secondary»primary (tertiary is most favored bc it forms the most stable carbocation)
-primary alpha carbon DOESN’T UNDERGO SN1 or E1 bc it is TOO slow
SN1 stereochemistry
-SN1 gives racemic product (50: 50 enantiomers with one as R and other as S configuration)
-SN2 gives inversion
-E1 gives just one product
summary of SN2/E2 and SN1/E1
-for poor nucleophile (H2O): no reaction for methyl, no reaction for primary carbocation w/ no branching, no reaction for primary carbocation w/ branching, SN1/E1 mixture for secondary, SN1/E1 mixture for tertiary
-weak base/good nucleophile (I): SN2 for methyl, SN2 for primary w/ no branching, SN2 for primary with brancing, SN2 for secondary, SN1/E1 mixture for tertiary
-stronger base (CH_3O^-): SN2 for methyl, SN2/E2 mixture for primary w/ no branching, E2 for primary w/ branching, E2 for secondary, E2 for tertiary
alkenes in electrophilic addition
-mechanism: double bond breaks and attaches to H while Br leaves, Br attaches to more substituted carbon (called Markovnikov rule) while H attaches to less substituted carbon
alkenes in radical addition
-mechanism: peroxide breaks double bond and attaches single electron on both sides, bond from Br gives one electron to combine with one electron from RO, you get RO-H + Br with single electron. double bond breaks to give one electron to Br and one electron to adjacent carbon, Br goes to LESS substituted carbon (called anti-markovnikov)
-only need small amount of radical initiator i.e. peroxide here to start the reaction
-see slides for more detail (a lot easier to look at slides for this one)
alkene radical stability
-radical stablity: tertiary>secondary>primary>methyl
-tertiary radical i.e. single electron on the tertiary carbon is more stable bc CH_3 bonds help stabilize radical
-bond dissociation energy tells us the strength of the bond
-peroxide RO–OR is an easier bond to break which is why it is the best racial initiator
organolithium(Li)/Organomagnesium (Mg)
-when looking at either, assume that the Li and Mg have negative bonds and that Li gets detached and becomes nonbonding pair
-look at slides for this (a lot easier)
organolithium/organomagnesium
-they both act as STRONG bases
substitution
-substitution is when a nucleophile comes in and then the leaving group comes out
-it goes from a single bond to a single bond
-starts with substrate that reacts with nucleophile
elimination
-starts with a single bond
-single bond becomes double bond
-can remove two things: halogen and H
w/ weak bases
-in general, with weak bases, we tend to see an SN2 (ex. primary alkyl halide with I^-, secondary alkyl halide reacted with CN^- in aprotic solvent)
w/ strong bases
-in general, with strong bases (i.e. RO^- alkoxide), we tend to see SN2 or E2 (tertiary alkyl halide with CH3O^- is an E2, primary alkyl halide with CH3O^- is SN2)