Nucleophilic Substitution (Oxford AQA International A Level Chemistry)

Revision Note

Philippa Platt

Written by: Philippa Platt

Reviewed by: Stewart Hird

Nucleophilic Substitution Mechanism

  • nucleophile is an electron-rich species that can donate a pair of electrons

    • ‘Nucleophile’ means ‘nucleus/positive charge loving’ as nucleophiles are attracted to positively charged species

    • H2O, OH-, NH3 and CN- are examples of nucleophiles as they have a full negative charge or a lone pair of electrons

  • nucleophilic substitution reaction is one in which a nucleophile attacks a carbon atom which carries a partial positive charge

  • An atom that has a partial negative charge is replaced by the nucleophile

    Halogenoalkanes will undergo nucleophilic substitution reactions due to the polar C-X bond (where X is a halogen)

Halogen Compounds Polarity of the C-X bond, downloadable AS & A Level Chemistry revision notes
Due to a large differences in electronegativity between the carbon and halogen atom, the C-X bond is polar

General Mechanism for Nucleophilic Substitution

  • There are usually two curly arrows to draw in this mechanism

    • Curly arrow from lone pair of electrons on nucleophile to partially positive carbon atom in C-X bond

    • Curly arrow from the C-X bond to the X atom

General nucleophilic substitution mechanism, downloadable AS & A Level Chemistry revision notes
The curly arrow must begin at the nucleophile and end at the delta positive carbon atom in the C-X bond

Formation of nitriles

  • The nucleophile in this reaction is the CN- ion

    • The nucleophilic substitution of halogenoalkanes with KCN is used to extend the carbon chain

  • An aqueous ethanolic solution of potassium cyanide is warmed with the halogenoalkane

  • The product is a nitrile

    • E.g. bromoethane reacts with ethanolic potassium cyanide when heated under reflux to form propanenitrile

CH3CH2Br + CN- rightwards arrowCH3CH2CN + Br-

A diagram to show the formation of a nitrile mechanism
Nucleophilic substitution forming a nitrile

Formation of primary amines by reaction with ammonia

  • The nucleophile in this reaction is NH3

  • An ethanolic solution of excess ammonia (NH3 in ethanol) is heated under pressure with the halogenoalkane

  • The product is a primary amine

    • E.g. bromoethane reacts with excess ethanolic ammonia when heated under pressure to form ethylamine and ammonium bromide

CH3CH2Br + 2NH3 rightwards arrowCH3CH2NH2 + NH4Br

A diagram to show the formation of an amine
Nucleophilic substitution forming an amine

Formation of alcohols by hydrolysis

  • The nucleophile is the OH- ion

  • Aqueous sodium (or potassium) hydroxide is the reagent

  • Ethanol is used as a solvent (to increase the solubility of the halogenoalkane) and the reaction is warmed

    • The reaction is very slow at room temperature

CH3CH2Br + OH- rightwards arrowCH3CH2OH + Br-

A diagram to show the formation of an alcohol via nucleophilic substitution
Nucleophilic substitution forming an alcohol

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • The reaction of a halogenoalkane with hydroxide ions can be nucleophilic substitution or elimination depending on the conditions

  • In the water / ethanol solvent mixture:

    • A higher proportion of water favours nucleophilic substitution

    • A higher proportion of ethanol favours elimination

  • Higher temperatures and higher concentrations of the hydroxide ion both favour elimination

Bond Enthalpy of C-X bonds

  • The halogenoalkanes have different rates of substitution reactions

  • Since substitution reactions involve breaking the carbon-halogen bond the bond energies can be used to explain their different reactivities

Halogenoalkane Bond Energy Table

Bond

Bond enthalpy (kJ mol-1)

C-F

467

C-Cl

346

C-Br

290

C-I

228

  • The table above shows that the C-I bond requires the least energy to break, and is therefore the weakest carbon-halogen bond

  • During substitution reactions the C-I bond will therefore heterolytically break as follows:

    • R3C-I + OH-     →    R3C-OH + I-

  • The C-F bond, on the other hand, requires the most energy to break and is, therefore, the strongest carbon-halogen bond

  • Fluoroalkanes will therefore be less likely to undergo substitution reactions

Examiner Tips and Tricks

The formation of an amine via nucleophilic substitution requires an extra step to remove the positive charge on the nitrogen atom in the intermediate. You must show the arrow from the N-H bond to the N atom in your mechanism.

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Philippa Platt

Author: Philippa Platt

Expertise: Chemistry

Philippa has worked as a GCSE and A level chemistry teacher and tutor for over thirteen years. She studied chemistry and sport science at Loughborough University graduating in 2007 having also completed her PGCE in science. Throughout her time as a teacher she was incharge of a boarding house for five years and coached many teams in a variety of sports. When not producing resources with the chemistry team, Philippa enjoys being active outside with her young family and is a very keen gardener

Stewart Hird

Author: Stewart Hird

Expertise: Chemistry Lead

Stewart has been an enthusiastic GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB teacher for more than 30 years in the UK as well as overseas, and has also been an examiner for IB and A Level. As a long-standing Head of Science, Stewart brings a wealth of experience to creating Topic Questions and revision materials for Save My Exams. Stewart specialises in Chemistry, but has also taught Physics and Environmental Systems and Societies.