Part 6 of a 6 part series. Previous posts in the series: 1 2 3 4 5 - James 3 ½ Steps To Any SN1/SN2/E1/E2 Reaction: Wrap Up And Cautions, by @azmanam Congratulations! You now have all the information you need to help Dr. House diagnose any reaction your professor throws at you. Let’s review … [Read more...]
Guest Post On SN1/SN2/E1/E2 (5) – The Solvent
For the previous posts in Adam's series on the SN1/SN2/E1/E2 decision, see Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 and Part 4 - James Three And A Half Steps To Any Substitution or Elimination Reaction, Step 3: The Nature of The Solvent by @azmanam Step 3: What is the nature of the solvent? You might think … [Read more...]
Guest Post on SN1/SN2/E1/E2 (1): Why Electrons Are Like A Hyperactive Child
Note (from James) When my friend Adam from The Chemistry Blog offered to write a series of posts on Substitution and Elimination, I immediately said "yes". This is one of the topics that many students struggle with, particularly at this time of year. Adam has been writing for years on organic … [Read more...]
Wrapup: The Quick N’ Dirty Guide To SN1/SN2/E1/E2
The previous several posts dealt with an approach to solving substitution and elimination problems that can only be described as a Quick N' Dirty Guide to SN1/SN2/E1/E2. The basic premise is this: given 15-20 minutes to describe the basic principles by which one could figure out if a given reaction … [Read more...]
What Makes A Good Nucleophile?
If you read the last post, you'll recall that a nucleophile is a species that donates a pair of electrons to form a new covalent bond. Nucleophilicity is measured by comparing reaction rates; the faster the reaction, the better (or, "stronger") the nucleophile. When discussing nucleophilicity … [Read more...]