Nucleophilic substitution

• An SN2 Reaction is a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reaction.
• The rate law of an SN2 reaction is: Rate = [reactant] [nucleophile].
• An SN2 reaction is a concerted reaction in which the breaking and creation of the covalent bonds are simultaneous.
• The stereochemistry of an SN2 reaction always results in the inversion of the stereocenter due to a backside attack from the nucleophile.
• An SN1 reaction is an unimolecular nucleophilic substitution reaction.
• The rate law of an SN1 reaction is R = k[reactant]. This is because the reactant is a rate-limiting step
• An SN1 reaction is not a concerted reaction. It is a two-step mechanism where the bond breaking occurs before the bond forming.
• The stereochemistry of an SN1 reaction results in a racemic mixture. This is due to the two available p orbital that have equal chances of interacting with the nucleophile.
• In an SN1 reaction, the more substituted the carbonation, the faster the reaction rate.
• A primary halide that has strong, negatively charged nucleophiles, in a polar aprotic solvent is favored by the SN2 mechanism.
• A tertiary halide that has weak neutral nucleophiles, in a polar protic solvent is favored by an SN1 reaction.
• A secondary halide is dependent on the nucleophile and solvent. An SN2 reaction favors a strong nucleophile and polar aprotic solvent. An SN1 reaction favors a polar protic solvent.
• Nucleophilic substitutions are Lewis acid-base reactions in which the nucleophile donates its electron pair to the electron-deficient alkyl halide, which accepts the electron pair as a Lewis acid.