Nucleophilic Substitution (Oxford AQA International A Level Chemistry)
Revision Note
Written by: Philippa Platt
Reviewed by: Stewart Hird
Nucleophilic Substitution Mechanism
A 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
A 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)
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
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- CH3CH2CN + Br-
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 CH3CH2NH2 + NH4Br
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- CH3CH2OH + Br-
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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