Substitution and Elimination Reactions Flashcards
What is a furan? A tetrahydrofuran (THF)?
What is a diethyl ether?
An ethyl methyl sulfide?
What is a vinyl alcohol?
An allyl alcohol?
What is chloroform?
Vinyl or allyl chloride?
What are primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols?
What does SN2 mean?
What are the charactestics (and examples) of good leaving groups?
Good leaving groups are weak bases
(meaning, they make strong acids)
What are the characteristics (and examples) of poor leaving groups?
Poor leaving groups are strong bases (weak acids)
What are the characterstics (and some examples) of good nucleophiles?
- high energy donor
- (-) negative formal charge
- electropositive
What makes for a rapid SN2 reaction?
Steric Effects (most important)
- Good if the halide is methyl or 1o
- Fair if the halide is 2o
- Poor if the halide is 3o, β-branch. Or if the nucleophile is very bulky.
Leaving-Group ability
- Good leaving groups are weak bases.
Nucleophilicity
- Good: High energy lone pairs (C, P, S, I)
- Fair: OH-, Br-, N, Cl-
- Poor: F-, ROH, H2O
Each of the following carbocations is significantly more stable than the methyl cation. Explain why each of these species is especially stable. You should use both molecular orbital and resonance arguments in your explanations.
What are the primary requirements for…
- SN2 reactions
- E2 reactions
- SN1 and E1 reactions
- SN2 reactions: need good steric interactions
- (Me, 1° is good, 2° less good, 3° bad)
- E2 reactions: need strong attacking base
- at least as strong as OH–
- SN1 and E1 reactions: need stable carbocation
- 3° is good, 2° is OK, 1° is bad, protic conditions
Predict the major product, and indicate the type of mechanism.
Predict the major product, and indicate the type of mechanism.