#sn2 reaction

[er-cryptid]

SN2 and Nucleophiles

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[er-cryptid]

[er-cryptid]

[scienceknowledge]

Introduction to chemical reactions

There are three main types of reactions. The first being the Sn2 reaction. S with a captial "N" as a subscript, and 2. What this means is "substitution by a nucleophile with two reagents". A nucleophile is simply the reagent that "attacks" another atom based on polarity and charge. The first molecule is attacked by a nucleophile which is attracted to the charge(or partial charge) on an atom. The atom that is bonded and leaves is called the leaving group. The atom is more stable with the nucleophile than the previous bonded atom. The basic definition: one atom is added, and another leaves. The nucleophile is always added to the front, while the  atom leaves from the back. Most Sn2 reactions change the stereochemistry of molecules.

The second is addition of alkyl reagents. An easy one would be methylated lithium reagents. The lithium reagent containing an alkyl group comes in contact with a molecule such as a ketone or an aldehyde. The lithium is so positive, it leaves its bond with the carbon atom it is currently attached to and makes an attraction to the O atom on the aldehyde or ketone. The carbon chain all by itself attaches to the carbon on the molecule that has the Oxygen, and the oxygen leaves. If water is present, the lithium bonds with the oxygen, and one proton(H+) from the water. The OH- left from water places itself where the oxygen on the larger molecule was(the ketone/aldeyde) and makes a product. These two products are alcohol(if reacted with a ketone) and LiOH(Lithium Hydroxide).

Diels-Alder reactions occur between a diene and alkenes or alkynes to produce cyclic compounds. The single and double bonds are rearranged to form a cyclic compound as a product. The carbons usually keep their constituents(if there are any) and if they are numbered, you can see that only the pi bonds are rearranged to form maximum distance between bonds.