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   NUCLEOPHILIC SUBSTITUTION REACTIONS (SN 1 and SN 2)
posted on 14 Dec 2007 14:01:30 IST    2476 views    33 comments
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NUCLEOPHILIC SUBSTITUTION REACTIONS:
 
. All the nucleophilic substitution reactions begins with a  Heterolytic cleavage of
 
       the bond between the sp 3 carbon and the leaving group.
 
. This bond cleavage makes the sp3 carbon electron-deficient.
 
. With the leaving group and a pair of electrons gone, the substrate is now a  positively charged carbocation .
 
. The nucleophile then reacts with this carbocation in a heterogenic bond forming the product.
 
 
Most of the Aliphatic nucleophilic substitution reactions follow one of two mechanisms , SN1  , SN2
 
The basic difference between the two mechanisms is
 
. When the leaving group departs
 
. Rate-determining step of the reaction ( i.e., whether the rate of the reaction is dependent on the substrate or the nucleophile)
 
. Whether any intermediate is formed.
 
 
 
Type of reaction
SN 1, or a Substitution, Nucleophilic, unimolecular (1) reaction
SN 2, or a Substitution, Nucleophilic, bimolecular ( 2) reaction
When the leaving group departs
 
The leaving group departs before the nucleophile arrives.
The leaving group departs while the nuclepohile is reacting
i.e., the rate at which the nucleophile attacks the carbon is equal to the rate at which the leaving group departs.
Whether any intermediate is formed.
 
A carbocation intermediate is formed first.
The bond between the carbon and the leaving group breaks, and the bond between the carbon and the nucleophile forms simultaneously,
Rate-determining step of the reaction
The rate of the reaction depended only on the concentration of the substrate.
i.e, it is a first order reaction(hence the name unimolecular reaction)
 
The rate for a second order reaction depends on the concentrations of two The rate of this reaction depends on the concentration of both reagents in the reaction mixture.
changes in the concentrations of both reactants affect the rate of reaction.
Thus it is a
second order reaction.
(hence the name bimolecular reaction)
 
 
 
SN1 reaction

The SN1 reaction

 
 
 
 
The SN1 reaction is a two-step reaction in which
 
1.The leaving group leaves, forming a carbocation. This is the slow step, and so the rate is dependent only on the concentration of the substrate.
 
2.The nucleophile attacks the carbocation. It can do this from either side, typically in a 50/50 ratio.
 
3.Therefore about half the product has retained the original configuration, and about half is inverted. Protonated nucleophiles, such as methanol, then lose a proton to the solvent.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SN1 schematic
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
SN1 reaction animation
 
 
 
 

The SN2 reaction

SN2 reaction
 
 
 
1.The SN2 reaction is a single-step displacement of a leaving group by a nucleophile.
 
2.During the transition state, the bond to the nucleophile forms at the same time that the bond to the leaving group breaks .
 
3.Therefore the nucleophile is required to approach from the back , and configuration at carbon is inverted.
 
 
 
 
 
SN2 schematic
 
   
 
   
(For animation http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/classes/CEM221/sn-e/SN2_content.html)
 
 
 
 

SOURCE: http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/classes/CEM221/sn-e/SN1-1.html

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Srujana (2785)

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A K is offline comment by A K      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 14:25:03 IST)
    Good one Srujana.........
Ankur Verma is offline comment by Ankur Verma      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 14:29:18 IST)
    gud job done sis really impressive n vry usefull ,nicely explain
mehak sharma is offline comment by mehak sharma      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 15:21:32 IST)
    really very nice yaar keep it up
Swashata Ghosh is offline comment by Swashata Ghosh      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 15:36:30 IST)
    nice article srujana!!!!! Especially the animations!! :)
kasirajan is offline comment by kasirajan      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 16:07:49 IST)
    its awesome srujana...keep it up..
puja singh is offline comment by puja singh      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 17:27:49 IST)
    gr8888
Ashwini is offline comment by Ashwini      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 17:27:51 IST)
    cool!!
gud work!!
:-)
nishant singh is offline comment by nishant singh      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 17:29:53 IST)
    awesome post srujana, the animations are simply great!!!!!

keep it up!!!!!
kislay kumar is offline comment by kislay kumar      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 18:25:22 IST)
    gud wrk.............
Srujana is offline comment by Srujana      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 18:33:42 IST)
    thanku frds.......
U ALREADY KNOW is offline comment by U ALREADY KNOW      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 18:44:03 IST)
    cool animations Srujana and the explanation of mechanism is awsome !
abc xyz is offline comment by abc xyz      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 19:18:58 IST)
    VERY GOOD, PLEASE COULD YOU DO THE SAME FOR ELIMINATION REACTIONS?
Srujana is offline comment by Srujana      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 19:22:49 IST)
    pannaguma , u can refer thiis link http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/classes/CEM221/sn-e/SN1-1.html
fr E1 and E2.........
Ajitha is offline comment by Ajitha      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 19:32:20 IST)
    its really gr88888888888888...........................yaar... well done.....hats off...........
harsh _27 is offline comment by harsh _27      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 19:38:54 IST)
    u r really helpful srujana.......animations made it very easy to understand,which is sometimes not possible even after studying from so many good books......
Srujana is offline comment by Srujana      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 19:40:19 IST)
    heyyy......................its my pleasure harsha ^_^
sheva ...... is offline comment by sheva ......      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 20:25:01 IST)
    good work
darshan . is offline comment by darshan .      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 21:18:54 IST)
    awesome post srujana, the animations are simply great!!!!!
Arshdeep Singh Malhan is offline comment by Arshdeep Singh Malhan      (posted on 14 Dec 2007 22:08:56 IST)
    very well done
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