Alkyl Halides

Lecture 8
 Alkyl Halides
• Alkyl halides are organic molecules containing a halogen
atom bonded to an sp3 hybridized carbon atom.
• The halogen atom in halides is often denoted by the symbol
“X”.
• Alkyl halides are classified as primary (1°), secondary (2°), or
tertiary (3°), depending on the number of carbons bonded to
the carbon with the halogen atom.

2
 Types of Alkyl Halides

• Vinyl halides have a halogen atom (X) bonded to a C-C

double bond.
• Aryl halides have a halogen atom bonded to a benzene
ring.

Figure 7.2

3
 Types of Alkyl Halides

• Allylic halides have X bonded to the carbon atom

adjacent to a C-C double bond.
• Benzylic halides have X bonded to the carbon atom
adjacent to a benzene ring.

Figure 7.2

4
Naming Alkyl Halides

5
 Common Names of Alkyl Halides
• Common names are often used for simple alkyl halides.
• To assign a common name:
• Name all the carbon atoms of the molecule as a single
alkyl group.
• Name the halogen bonded to the alkyl group.
• Combine the names of the alkyl group and halide,
separating the words with a space.

6
 Polarity of Alkyl Halides
• Alkyl halides are weakly polar molecules.
• They exhibit dipole-dipole interactions because of their
polar C-X bond.
• Since the rest of the molecule contains only C-C and C-H
bonds, they are incapable of intermolecular hydrogen
bonding.

7
Physical Properties of Alkyl Halides

8
 Simple Alkyl Halides
Figure 7.4

9
Common Alkyl Halides

10
 The Polar Carbon-Halogen Bond
• The electronegative halogen atom in alkyl halides creates a
polar C-X bond, making the carbon atom electron deficient.
• Electrostatic potential maps of four simple alkyl halides
illustrate this point.
• This electron deficient carbon is a key site in the reactivity
of alkyl halides.

Figure 7.5

11
Reaction Types for Alkyl Halides

12
 Substitution Reactions
• Three components are necessary in any substitution reaction.

13
 Nucleophiles in Substitution Reactions
• Nucleophiles are Lewis bases that can be negatively charged
or neutral.
• Negatively charged nucleophiles like HO¯ and HS¯ are used
as salts with Li+, Na+, or K+ counterions to balance the charge.

14
 Neutral Nucleophiles
• When a neutral nucleophile is used, the substitution product
bears a positive charge.

15
 The Leaving Group
• In a nucleophilic substitution reaction of R-X, the C-X bond is
heterolytically cleaved, and the leaving group departs with the
electron pair in that bond, forming X:¯.
• The more stable the leaving group X:¯, the better able it is to
accept an electron pair.

• For example, H2O is a better leaving group than HO¯ because

H2O is a weaker base.
16
 Trends in Leaving Group Ability
• The weaker the base, the better the leaving group.

17
Good Leaving Groups

18
 Poor Leaving Groups
• Conjugate bases of weaker acids are poorer leaving
groups.

19
 Nucleophiles and Bases

• Nucleophiles and bases are structurally similar: both

have a lone pair or a  bond.
• They differ in what they attack.
• Bases attack protons.
• Nucleophiles attack other electron-deficient atoms
(usually carbons).

20
 Nucleophiles vs. Bases

• Although nucleophilicity and basicity are interrelated,

they are fundamentally different.
• Basicity is a measure of how readily an atom donates its
electron pair to a proton.
• It is characterized by an equilibrium constant, Ka in an
acid-base reaction, making it a thermodynamic property.

• Nucleophilicity is a measure of how readily an atom

donates its electron pair to other atoms.
• It is characterized by a rate constant, k, making it a kinetic
property.

21
 Nucleophilicity Parallels Basicity
Nucleophilicity parallels basicity in three instances:
1. For two nucleophiles with the same nucleophilic atom, the
stronger base is the stronger nucleophile.
• The relative nucleophilicity of HO¯ and CH3COO¯, is
determined by comparing the pKa values of their conjugate
acids (H2O = 15.7, and CH3COOH = 4.8).
• HO¯ is a stronger base and stronger nucleophile than
CH3COO¯.
2. A negatively charged nucleophile is always a stronger
nucleophile than its conjugate acid.
• HO¯ is a stronger base and stronger nucleophile than H2O.
3. Right-to-left across a row of the periodic table, nucleophilicity
increases as basicity increases:

22
 Steric Effects on Nucleophile Strength
• Nucleophilicity does not parallel basicity when steric
hindrance becomes important.
• Steric hindrance is a decrease in reactivity resulting from
the presence of bulky groups at the site of a reaction.
• Steric hindrance decreases nucleophilicity but not basicity.
• Sterically hindered bases that are poor nucleophiles are
called nonnucleophilic bases.

23
 Solvent Effects on Nucleophilicity
• Most organic reactions are performed in a liquid solvent
capable of dissolving the reactants, at least to some extent.

• Since substitution reactions involve polar starting materials,

polar solvents are used to dissolve them.

• There are two types of polar solvents: protic and aprotic.

• Nucleophilicity can be affected by the nature of the solvent.

24
 Solvation by Polar Protic Solvents
• Polar protic solvents solvate both cations and anions well.
• If the salt NaBr is used as a source of the nucleophile Br¯ in H2O:
• The Na+ cations are solvated by ion-dipole interactions with
H2O molecules.
• The Br¯ anions are solvated by strong hydrogen bonding
interactions.

25
 Nucleophilicity in Polar Protic Solvents
• Smaller, more electronegative anions are solvated more
strongly, effectively shielding them from reaction.
• In polar protic solvents, nucleophilicity increases down a
column of the periodic table as the size of the anion
increases.
• This is the opposite of basicity.

Figure 7.6

26
 Polar Aprotic Solvents

• Polar aprotic solvents also exhibit dipole-dipole

interactions, but are incapable of hydrogen bonding.
• They have no O-H or N-H bonds.

Figure 7.7

27
 Nucleophilicity in Polar Aprotic Solvents
• Polar aprotic solvents solvate cations by ion-dipole
interactions.
• Anions are not well solvated because the solvent cannot
hydrogen bond to them.
• These anions are said to be “naked” and therefore, more
reactive.

28
 Nucleophilicity vs. Basicity in Polar
Aprotic Solvents
• In polar aprotic solvents, nucleophilicity parallels
basicity, and the stronger base is the stronger
nucleophile.
• Because basicity decreases as size increases down a
column, nucleophilicity decreases as well.

29
Common Nucleophiles

30
 Kinetics and Mechanisms

Consider reaction 1 below:

• Kinetic data show that the rate of reaction 1 depends on the

concentration of both reactants, which suggests a bimolecular
reaction with a one-step mechanism.
• This is an example of an SN2 (substitution nucleophilic
bimolecular) mechanism.
31
 Kinetics and Mechanisms
Consider reaction 2 below:

• Kinetic data show that the rate of reaction 2 depends on the

concentration of only the alkyl halide.
• This suggests a two-step mechanism in which the rate-
determining step involves the alkyl halide only.
• This is an example of an SN1 (substitution nucleophilic
unimolecular) mechanism.
32
 SN2 Reaction Mechanism

• The mechanism of an SN2 reaction would be drawn as

follows.
• Curved arrow notation is used to show the flow of
electrons.

33
 SN2 Kinetics

• SN2 reactions exhibit 2nd order kinetics.

• The reaction is bimolecular – both the alkyl halide and
the nucleophile appear in the rate equation.

rate = k[CH3Br][CH3COO-]

34
 Energy Diagrams for SN2 Reactions
Figure 7.8

35
 Substrate Reactivity in SN2 Reactions
• As the number of R groups on the carbon with the leaving
group increases, the rate of an SN2 reaction decreases.

• Methyl and 1° alkyl halides undergo SN2 reactions with ease.

• 2° Alkyl halides react more slowly.
• 3° Alkyl halides do not undergo SN2 reactions due to steric
effects.
• Bulky R groups near the reaction site make nucleophilic
attack from the backside more difficult, slowing the reaction
rate.
36
 Steric Effects in SN2 Reactions

Electrostatic potential maps illustrate the effects of steric

hindrance around the carbon bearing the leaving group in
a series of alkyl halides.

Figure 7.11

37
 Effect of Sterics on Rate of SN2 Reactions

• Increasing the number of R groups on the carbon with

the leaving group increases crowding in the transition
state, thereby decreasing the reaction rate.
• The SN2 reaction is fastest with unhindered halides.

38
Characteristics of the SN2 Mechanism

39
 The SN2 Reaction in the Synthesis of Drugs

Figure 7.13

40
 SN1 Reaction Mechanism
• The mechanism of an SN1 reaction would be drawn as
follows: Note the curved arrow formalism that is used to
show the flow of electrons.

• Key features of the SN1 mechanism are that it has two steps,
and carbocations are formed as reactive intermediates.
41
 SN1 Kinetics

• SN1 reactions exhibit 1st order kinetics.

• The reaction is unimolecular – involving only the alkyl
halide.
• The identity and concentration of the nucleophile have
no effect on the reaction rate.
• Therefore, the nucleophile does not appear in the rate
equation.

rate = k[CH3Br]

42
 Substrate Reactivity in SN1 Reactions

• The rate of an SN1 reaction is affected by the type of alkyl halide

involved.

• This trend is exactly opposite to that observed in SN2 reactions.

43
 Carbocation Stability

• The effect of the type of alkyl halide on SN1 reaction rates

can be explained by considering carbocation stability.
• Carbocations are classified as primary (1°), secondary (2°),
or tertiary (3°), based on the number of R groups bonded to
the charged carbon atom.
• As the number of R groups increases, carbocation stability
increases.

44
Inductive Effects and Carbocation Stability
• The order of carbocation stability can be rationalized
through inductive effects and hyperconjugation.
• Inductive effects occur by the pull of electron density
through  bonds caused by electronegativity differences
between atoms.
• Alkyl groups are electron donor groups that stabilize a
positive charge because they contain several  bonds, each
containing electron density.
• As a result, alkyl groups are more polarizable than a
hydrogen atom, and better able to donate electron density.
• In general, the more alkyl groups attached to a carbon with a
positive charge, the more stable the cation will be.

45
 Carbocation Stability

Figure 7.17
Electrostatic potential maps for
differerent carbocations

46
Hyperconjugation and Carbocation Stability
• The order of carbocation stability is also a consequence of
hyperconjugation.
• Hyperconjugation is the spreading out of charge by the
overlap of an empty p orbital with an adjacent  bond.
• This overlap delocalizes the positive charge on the
carbocation over a larger volume, thus stabilizing it.
• For example: (CH3)2CH+ can be stabilized by hyperconjugation,
but CH3+ cannot .

47
Characteristics of the SN1 Mechanism

48
 Nature of the Alkyl Halide
• The most important factor is the identity of the alkyl halide.

49
 Effect of the Nucleophile
• Strong nucleophiles (which usually bear a negative charge)
present in high concentrations favor SN2 reactions.
• Weak nucleophiles, such as H2O and ROH favor SN1 reactions
by decreasing the rate of any competing SN2 reaction.
• Consider what happens when the 2° alkyl halide A, which can
react by either mechanism, is treated with either the strong
nucleophile HO¯ or the weak nucleophile H2O.

50
 Vinyl and Aryl Halides
• SN1 or SN2 reactions occur on sp3 hybridized carbons.
• Vinyl and aryl halides, which have a halogen attached to a
sp2 hybridized carbon, do not undergo SN1 or SN2 reactions.
• Heterolysis of the C-X bond would form a highly unstable
vinyl or aryl cation.

51