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Topic: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)  (Read 7358 times)

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Offline sun725

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Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« on: May 13, 2017, 06:56:13 PM »
I have to indicate the electrophilic and nucleophilic site(s) on this molecule:

http://imgur.com/a/72qfm

The only nucleophilic site that I can see is the hydroxy group on the Phenol. The carbonyl oxygen is more of a Lewis base than a nucleophile. Anyone who can confirm this or help me with this?

Offline Dan

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2017, 06:36:46 AM »
Yes, the phenol is nuclophilic, and the ketone is not.

What about electrophilic centres, what do you think?

What other functional groups do you have there? Have you tried looking up the reactivity of those functional groups (textbook or online) and seeing whether they tend to behave as nucleophiles or electrophiles (or neither)?

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Offline rolnor

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2017, 07:08:06 AM »
Also the very large iodines make the phenol a very stericaly hindered nucleophile, I think it would be difficult to for example esterify it.

Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2017, 11:12:39 AM »
Well, we do have 3 functional groups present here. The ketone, the benzofuran and the phenol. The phenol is nucleophilic, but the ketone is electrophilic or the carbon attached to the carbonyl group is. I didn't find anything regarding the benzofuran but I guess it's the lone pairs on the oxygen that makes it nucleophilic? I feel a bit lost here ...

Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2017, 08:22:06 AM »
Yes, the phenol is nuclophilic, and the ketone is not.

What about electrophilic centres, what do you think?

What other functional groups do you have there? Have you tried looking up the reactivity of those functional groups (textbook or online) and seeing whether they tend to behave as nucleophiles or electrophiles (or neither)?

As mentioned the hydroxy group (oxygen) is nucleophilic, however the oxygen on the ketone can be protonated and acts as a nucleophile as well. Then we have the two aromatic rings. They can both act as nucleophiles and electrophiles. I asked my professor. Now I'm really not sure about anything. Whats's right and what's wrong here. Really hoping you can help and clarify this.


Offline Dan

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2017, 02:08:00 AM »
I didn't find anything regarding the benzofuran but I guess it's the lone pairs on the oxygen that makes it nucleophilic? I feel a bit lost here ...

There should be reactions with benzofurans shown in your organic chemistry textbook
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Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2017, 07:11:15 AM »
Well, I've looked through my textbook many times without finding anything unfortuneatly.

Offline wildfyr

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2017, 09:30:11 AM »

...however the oxygen on the ketone can be protonated and acts as a nucleophile as well.
[/quote]

No. Protonating the ketone in fact makes it more electrophilic.

Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2017, 01:59:26 PM »

...however the oxygen on the ketone can be protonated and acts as a nucleophile as well.

No. Protonating the ketone in fact makes it more electrophilic.
[/quote]

I believe you. What can I say. My professor said that and I don't know what to write anymore.

Offline wildfyr

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2017, 02:03:47 PM »
They must have misspoken. I'm sure they know this. Think of it this way: in acid catalyzed transesterification, what is the first step? Protonation of the oxygen of the carbonyl, because an alcohol can't just attack the carbon center of an unprotonated carbonyl.

Offline Dan

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2017, 02:00:30 AM »
Well, I've looked through my textbook many times without finding anything unfortuneatly.

It should be in the aromatic heterocycle chapter, but if there is nothing specifically about benzofurans you can look at relatives like furan and indole to get an idea. What books do you have?
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Offline lb2

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2017, 02:43:32 AM »
@sun725

Quote
the oxygen on the ketone can be protonated and acts as a nucleophile as well

I think you are just tripping up on what your instructor said. He didn't mean that the oxygen can be protonated, and once protonated it can act as a nucleophile. He meant that the oxygen can be protonated or, alternatively, it can also act as a nucleophile.

Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2017, 11:21:39 AM »
Well, I've looked through my textbook many times without finding anything unfortuneatly.

It should be in the aromatic heterocycle chapter, but if there is nothing specifically about benzofurans you can look at relatives like furan and indole to get an idea. What books do you have?

Just to be 100 % sure. I've marked the two aromatic rings, as well as the hydroxy group and the oxygen attached to the ketone and the one attached to the benzofuran as nucleophilic. I don't know any relevant reaction to use here when looking at the ketone (all the reactions I've found regarding this are addition of a nucleophile to a ketone)?. I found a single reaction in my book regarding the furan, where a pyrrole is obtained.

Offline rolnor

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #13 on: May 17, 2017, 01:29:01 PM »
Is not a benzofurane to resonancestabilized to give the reaction to obtaine a benzopyrolle?

Offline sun725

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Re: Electrophilic and Nucleophilic site(s)
« Reply #14 on: May 17, 2017, 02:37:52 PM »
Is not a benzofurane to resonancestabilized to give the reaction to obtaine a benzopyrolle?

Didn't quite get that?

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