Re: Nucleophilic strengths
Brian Boldt (boldtbm@plu.edu)
Mon, 16 Dec 1996 00:13:13 -0800 (PST)
The bigger an atom is, the larger it's atomic radius and the
further away the electrons will be from the nucleus, causing them to
dissociate more readily right? The strength of the nucleophile in a
protic solvent wil thus be related to the atomic radius.
The factors which determine whether an SN2 or E2 will take place
correspond to the strength of the base... i.e. A strong, sterically
hindered base will favor the E2 condition. The strong base prevents the
formation of carbocations.
On Sun, 15 Dec 1996 nguyentm@plu.edu wrote:
> Why is nucleophilic strength based on the size of the atom in a protic
> solvent and is directly related to the basicity of the nucleophile in an
> aprotic solvent? What are the determing factors whether a nucleophile
> undergoes and SN2 or an E2 reaction, it's basicity?
> tuan
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