Day: December 18, 2008

  • Rate of Nucleophilic Substitution Contest – My Response

    If you recall, the winners of this contest were chosen by pulling cards out of a hat, an unusually large (size 7 3/4″) black top hat. The questions asked by the winners* were:

    1. Fluffy C. – Are the low reactivity of bromocyclohexane and bromocycloheptane towards NaI due to the way the rings fold?
    2. Ross Y. – What is the relationship between angle strain and SN1 reactivity in cycloalkyl bromides?
    3. Kelsey W – Why is 3-bromocyclohexene more reactive than bromocyclohexane towards NaI?

    These are all great questions and none of them have obvious answers so its a good thing I wasn’t forced to answer them on the night of the contest.
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