Ranking Nucleophiles: Understanding Reactivity and Polarizability

  • Thread starter AsuraSky
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Strength
In summary, nucleophilicity is the ability of a chemical species to donate a pair of electrons to form a new bond with an electrophilic atom or molecule. The strength of a nucleophile affects its reactivity, with stronger nucleophiles being more reactive in nucleophilic substitution reactions. Factors such as electronegativity, size, and solvent can influence the strength of a nucleophile. A strong nucleophile is highly reactive and has a greater ability to donate electrons, while a weak nucleophile is less reactive. The strength of a nucleophile can be determined experimentally through methods such as kinetic studies, competition reactions, and nucleophilic displacement reactions.
  • #1
AsuraSky
16
0
One the practice problems i was doing in preparation for my exam was to rank the following nucleophiles in the order of decreasing reactivity, best nucleophile first.

Nucleophiles: CH3OH, Br-, NH3, F-, CH3S-

The answer was CH3S->Br->NH3>F->CH3OH

What I don't understand is why CH3S- is a stronger nucleophile than the bromide ion, shouldn't bromide be stronger because it's a bigger atom and thus have more polarizability?
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
  • #2
You sure it is a good row? It seems that amonia should be a better nucleophile than Br-?
 

What is the definition of nucleophilicity?

Nucleophilicity is the ability of a chemical species to donate a pair of electrons to form a new bond with an electrophilic atom or molecule.

How does the strength of a nucleophile affect its reactivity?

The stronger the nucleophile, the more reactive it will be in nucleophilic substitution reactions. This is because a strong nucleophile has a greater ability to donate electrons and form a new bond with an electrophilic atom or molecule.

What factors influence the strength of a nucleophile?

The main factors that influence the strength of a nucleophile include the electronegativity of the atom or group, the size of the atom, and the solvent used in the reaction.

What is the difference between a strong nucleophile and a weak nucleophile?

A strong nucleophile is highly reactive and has a greater ability to donate electrons and form new bonds. A weak nucleophile, on the other hand, is less reactive and has a lower ability to donate electrons.

How can the strength of a nucleophile be determined experimentally?

The strength of a nucleophile can be determined experimentally through various methods such as kinetic studies, competition reactions, and nucleophilic displacement reactions. These methods allow for the comparison of different nucleophiles and their reactivity.

Similar threads

Nucleophilicity with respect to the solvent
    • Chemistry
Replies
8
Views
4K
Organic Chemistry Nucleophile Reactivity Rate
    • Chemistry
Replies
3
Views
6K
Explanation of the spectrochemical series of transition metal ions
    • Chemistry
Replies
6
Views
4K
Chemically regenerating my auto's catalytic converter?
    • Chemistry
Replies
16
Views
2K
Understanding Acid Strength: HSO3- vs H2SO3
    • Chemistry
Replies
5
Views
20K
Review My Work: Arranging Atoms & Ions by Radius
    • Chemistry
Replies
2
Views
3K
How cross-section area of single E-M wave looks like?
    • Classical Physics
2
Replies
35
Views
9K
Schools PGRE - A message to undergrads from physics grad school.
    • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
25
Views
7K
Why quantum mechanics follows octet rule?
    • Atomic and Condensed Matter
Replies
15
Views
10K
How is radio wave propagation modelled in seawater?
    • Optics
Replies
12
Views
9K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top