Topic 6b - Organic Chemistry I Flashcards
What is a polymer?
A long molecule made up of repeating small units called monomers.
What is addition polymerisation?
When small molecules with double bonds (usually alkenes) add to each other and join in long chains to form polymers.
In addition polymerisation, what are the alkenes called?
Monomers
What is the polymer of ethene called?
Poly(ethene)
Describe how addition polymerisation works.
- Several alkene monomers line up side by side
- The C=C bond in each splits to become a C-C bond
- This allows each monomer to join up with two adjacent monomers to create a saturated polymer
How can an addition polymer be shown without drawing out the whole chain?
- Just draw out the repeat unit with bonds to the adjacent units.
- Put brackets around the repeat unit, with the brackets going through the side bonds
(See pg 88 of revision guide)
Remember to revise drawing out addition polymers.
Pg 88 of revision guide
In addition polymerisation, how can you find the repeat unit from a monomer?
- Change the C=C into a C-C bond
* Add a single bond on the outside of each carbon
In addition polymerisation, how can you find the monomer used to make an addition polymer?
- Take the repeat unit
- Add a C=C bond between the carbons
- Remove the single bonds from the ends
What are the main ways of disposing of polymers?
- Burying
- Reusing
- Burning
When is plastic waste buried in landfill?
When it is:
• Difficult to separate from other waste
• Not in sufficient quantities to make separation financially worthwhile
• Too difficult technically to recycle
Before a waste plastic can be reuse, what must be done to it?
It must be sorted into different types.
How can plastics be sorted before being reused?
Infrared spectroscopy
What are two ways in which plastics can be reused?
- Remoulding -> The plastics are recycled by melting and remoulding to give new objects
- Cracking into monomers -> These can be used as an organic feedstock to make more plastics and other chemicals
When are waste plastics burned?
When recycling isn’t possible for whatever reason and landfill isn’t an ideal option.
When waste plastics are burned, what is the generated heat used for?
Generating electricity.
What is the problem with burning waste plastics?
It produces toxic gases that must be controlled.
Give an example of a toxic gas produced when waste plastics are burned.
HCl -> Made when polymers that contain chlorine (e.g. PVC) are burned
How can the burning of waste plastics be controlled to reduce toxic gases?
- Neutralising in scrubbers -> Waste gases are passed through scrubbers which neutralise gases, such as HCl, by reacting them with a base
- Sorting plastics -> The plastics can be sorted before burning to remove any materials that will produce toxic gases.
Remember to revise the flowchart on polymer disposal.
Pg 88 of revision guide.
Name the principles used by chemists when they design a sustainable polymer manufacturing process.
- Use reactant molecules that are as safe and environmentally friendly as possible
- Use as few other materials, like solvents, as possible -> If you have to, then choose ones that won’t harm the environment
- Use renewable materials where possible
- Minimise energy use -> Use catalysts
- Limit waste products, especially those hazardous to human health and the environment
- Ensure the lifespan of the polymer is appropriate for its use
What are biodegradable polymers?
Polymers that naturally decompose by being digested by organisms.
What are biodegradable polymers made from?
• Renewable raw materials (e.g. starch from maize and other plants)
OR
• Oil fractions (e.g. the hydrocarbon isoprene)
What are some advantages of using renewable raw materials to make biodegradable polymers?
- Raw materials aren’t going to run out like oil
- Biodegradable polymers from plants are carbon neutral, while oil-based polymers are not
- Some plant-based polymers may save energy over their ‘lifetime’ compared to oil-based plastics
Will biodegradable polymers always decompose quickly?
No, they still need the right conditions.
What are the problems of biodegradable polymers?
- Must be separated out from non-biodegradable polymers before they can decompose
- At the moment, more expensive than non-biodegradable polymers
What is a halogenoalkane?
An alkane with at least one halogen atom in place of a hydrogen atom.
Practise naming the halogenoalkanes on pg 90 of the revision guide.
Do it!
What are the different types of halogenoalkane?
- Primary
- Secondary
- Tertiary
What is a primary halogenoalkane?
When the carbon with the halogen attached has:
• Two hydrogen atoms
• One alkyl group
What is a secondary halogenoalkane?
When the carbon with the halogen attached has:
• One hydrogen atom
• Two alkyl groups
What is a tertiary halogenoalkane?
When the carbon with the halogen attached has:
• No hydrogen atoms
• Three alkyl groups
How can an alcohol be made from a halogenoalkane?
EITHER:
• Reacting with water
• Reacting with aqeuous potassium hydroxide (KOH)
Give the general equation for the reaction of a halogenoalkane with water.
R-X + H2O -> R-OH + H+ + X-
CH3CH2Br + H2O ->
CH3CH2Br + H2o -> C2H5OH + H+ + Br-
What type of reaction is adding water to a halogenoalkane to make an alcohol?
Hydrolysis
Describe an experiment to compare the reactivity of various halogenoalkanes.
1) Set up three test tubes, each containing 1cm3 ethanol (as a solvent) and a couple of drops of a different halogenoalkane in each tube.
2) Stand the tubes in a water bath for 10 minutes at 60*C. Warm some silver nitrate solution in the same water bath.
3) Add 5cm3 silver nitrate solution (containing water) to each tube.
4) Time how long it takes for each test tube to form a precipitate. Note the colour too.
5) The quicker the precipitate forms, the faster the rate of hydrolysis for that halogenoalkane.
In the experiment to compare the reactivity of various halogenoalkanes, why is ethanol used?
As a solvent, so the organic and aqueous reactants can mix and react.
In the experiment to compare the reactivity of various halogenoalkanes, why is silver nitrate solution used?
- Provides water for the hydrolysis of the alcohol.
* Silver ions react with the halide ions to give a coloured precipitate.
Explain how the experiment to compare the reactivity of various halogenoalkanes works.
• Ethanol acts as a solvent, allowing the halogenoalkane and silver nitrate solution to mix
• Water in the silver nitrate solution reacts with the halogenoalkane to give an alcohol, releasing halide ions:
R-X + H2O -> R-OH + H+ + X-
• Silver ions react with the halide ions to give a precipitate:
Ag+ (aq) + X- (aq) -> AgX (s)
• How quickly this precipitate forms reflects the reactivity of that halogenoalkane
What colour is silver chloride precipitate?
White
What colour is silver bromide precipitate?
Cream
What colour is silver iodide precipitate?
Yellow
Compare the reactivity of primary, secondary and tertiary halogenoalkanes.
Tertiary are the most reactive.
Compare the reactivity of chloroalkanes, bromoalkanes and iodoalkanes.
Iodoalkanes are the most reactive.
Explain the rate of hydrolysis of chloroalkanes, bromoalkanes and iodoalkanes.
- In order to hydrolyse a halogenoalkane, you have to break the carbon-halogen bond.
- How quickly this happens depends on the enthalpy of the carbon-halogen bond.
- The larger the halogen, the longer the bond, so the lower the enthalpy -> So it is hydrolysed faster.
- Therefore, since iodine is the largest, iodoalkanes are the most reactive.
When doing experiments to work out the order of reactivity of halogenoalkanes, what must you remember to do?
- Change only one factor at a time.
- For example, if you are investigating the effect of the halogen atom, remember to use all primary, all secondary or all tertiary halogenoalkanes.
What are the 3 ways in which halogenoalkanes can be made?
- From alkanes -> Reacting with a halide in UV light -> Free radical substitution
- From alkenes -> Reacting with hydrogen halides
- From alcohols -> Reacting with phosphorus halides or hydrogen halides
By what mechanism do halogenoalkanes usually react?
Nucleophilic substitution
Why do halogenoalkanes usually react with a nucleophilic substitution mechanism?
- Halogens are more electronegative than carbon
- So the carbon-halogen bond is polar (unlike in alkanes)
- The d+ carbon doesn’t have enough eletrons and can be attacked by a nucleophile -> OH-, NH3, CN-
- The nucleophile can bond with the d+ carbon, while releasing the halogen
What things do halogenoalkanes react with?
- Aqeuous potassium hydroxide (KOH)
- Ethanolic potassium cyanide
- Ethanolic ammonia
- Ethanolic potassium hydroxide (KOH) -> Elimination!
What are some nucleophiles that can react with halogenoalkanes in nucleophilic substitution?
- OH- from KOH
- CN- from KCN
- NH3
Describe the reaction mechanism for nucleophilic substitution in a halogenoalkane.
1) Carbon-halogen bond is polar -> d+ on the carbon and d- on the halogen
2) Nucleophile attracted to C d+ -> Arrow from lone pair to carbon
3) Carbon-halogen bond breaks heterolytically -> Arrow from the bond to the d- halogen
4) Nucleophile is now bonded to the carbon and halogen is free with a negative charge
(NOTE: This is all a one-step mechanism)
Give the general equation for a reaction of a halogenoalkane with aqueous potassium hydroxide.
(Conditions?)
R-X + KOH -> ROH + KX
Conditions: Warm KOH + Heating under reflux
Under what conditions can aqueous potassium hydroxide react with a halogenoalkane to give an alcohol?
- Warm KOH
* Heating under reflux
Describe the reaction mechanism fro a halogenoalkane reacting with aqueous potassium hydroxide.
Mechanism: Nucleophilic substitution
1) Carbon-hydrogen bond is polar -> d+ on the carbon, d- on the halogen
2) OH- is attracted to the C d+ -> Arrow from the lone pair on the OH- to the C d+
3) Carbon-hydrogen bond breaks heterolytically -> Arrow from the bond to the d- halogen
4) Nucleophile is now bonded to the carbon (making an alcohol) and halogen is free with a negative charge
(NOTE: This is all a one-step mechanism - see pg 92 of revision guide)
Water or aqueous potassium hydroxide can be used to react with a halogenoalkane to make an alcohol. Compare the two in terms of rate of reaction, products and conditions.
WITH H2O: • Slower, since water is a worse nucleophile • Makes alcohol, H+ and X- • No specific conditions WITH KOH (aq): • Faster, since OH- is a better nucleophile • Makes alcohol and KX • Warm KOH + Heating under reflux
How can a nitrile be formed from a halogenoalkane?
Reacting with potassium cyanide in ethanol under reflux.
What is formed when a halogenoalkane reacts with cyanide ions?
- Nitrile
* Halide ion
Give the general equation for a halogenoalkane reacting with cyanide ions.
(Conditions?)
R-X + CN- -> R-C≡N + X-
Conditions: In ethanol + Heating under reflux
Under what conditions can a halogenoalkane react with potassium cyanide to give a nitrile.
- KCN in ethanol
* Heating under reflux
Describe the reaction mechanism for a halogenoalkane reacting with ethanolic potassium cyanide.
Mechanism: Nucleophilic substitution
1) Carbon-hydrogen bond is polar -> d+ on the carbon, d- on the halogen
2) CN- is attracted to the C d+ -> Arrow from the lone pair on the CN- to the C d+
3) Carbon-hydrogen bond breaks heterolytically -> Arrow from the bond to the d- halogen
4) Nucleophile is now bonded to the carbon (making a nitrile) and halogen is free with a negative charge
(NOTE: This is all a one-step mechanism - see pg 92 of revision guide)
In a CN- ion, is the lone pair on the C or the N?
C
When is the reaction between a halogenoalane and cyandie ions useful?
When you need to increase the length of the carbon chain during synthesis.
What are amines?
Organic compounds based on ammonia (NH3), where one or more of the hydrogens have been replaced by an alkyl group.
(See pg 93 of revision guide)
How can an amine be formed from a halogenoalkane?
Warming with ammonia in ethanol.