Hydrohalogenation of Alkenes
- Alkenes will react readily with hydrogen halides such as HCl and HBr to produce halogenoalkanes
- This reaction is known as hydrohalogenation
- It is also an electrophilic addition reaction that occurs quickly at room temperature
Hydrohalogenation reactions in alkenes
- All the hydrogen halides react in this way, but the fastest reaction occurs in the order HI > HBr > HCl due to the increasing bond strength of the hydrogen-halogen bond, so the weakest bond reacts most easily
- The mechanism of this reaction is part of Higher Level Chemistry and is covered in Section 20
