What is the mechanism for the nucleophilic substitution of a halogenoalkane?

A halogenoalkane is a saturated hydrocarbon chain with a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br or I) attached to a carbon instead of a hydrogen. Halogens have a greater electronegativity than carbon. This means they draw the shared electron pair towards them, which polarises the carbon-halogen bond, and gives the carbon a slight delta positive charge. A nucleophile is a species with a lone pair of electrons. It is attracted to the slightly positive carbon, and donates its lone pair of elections to the carbon to form a bond. This pushes the electrons from the C-halogen bond to the halogen (remember carbon can only have 8 electrons in its valence shell), so that the halogen leaves the carbon compound as a negative halide ion. 

CS
Answered by Charlotte S. Chemistry tutor

3780 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

Describe the products of the following Friedl-Crafts substitution and explain the role of the AlCl3 in the reaction: C6H6 + CH3C(O)Cl + AlCl3 = ?


What is the effect of temperature on K(equilibrium constant)?


2-chloropropanoic acid has a Ka of 1.48E-3. Write an expression for Ka and hence or otherwise, calculate the pH of a 0.35M solution of 2-chloropropanoic acid


Acid HA has a Ka of 2.00 x 10-4mol dm-3. A solution was made by adding 15cm3 of 0.34 M NaOH to 25cm3 of 0.45M HA. Calculate the moles and the concentration of A- and HA in this solution. Using the expression for Ka calculate the pH of the solution


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences