April 28, 2024, 04:24:51 PM
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Topic: Nucleophilic aromatic substitutions - What happens to the leaving groups?  (Read 2220 times)

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Offline DoctorDomo

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Lets say I have some insanely activated (for NAS reactions) benzene ring like pentachloronitrobenzene or something, and I react it with an organic nucleophile like t-Butyl alcohol or something. Where happens to the Cl atoms that get displaced? Since the alcohol has to lose a H, would I be right in thinking it'll leave as HF? Or what about a grignard reagent, would it leave as MgFBr?

Offline Babcock_Hall

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Do you mean pentafluoro, as opposed to pentachloro?

Offline DoctorDomo

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Sorry, I meant to say HCl, not HF, but lets say pentafluoronitrobenzene instead. What happens to the flourine atoms? Does it get released as F2 gas, HF, a salt, or what? For example, lets say I use sodium ethoxide as my nucleophile, when the nucleophilic ethoxide ion attacks the carbon, the F- ion leaves, so in this case I'm guessing it just pairs up with Na+ to form a salt, but I'm just theorising there, I could be wrong.

Offline Babcock_Hall

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It would probably leave as fluoride ion and make a salt.  It would have to be oxidized to become fluorine gas.

Offline critzz

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Yes, you are right. The leaving fluoride-ion ends up with the sodium-ion (from the NaOEt) to form NaF.

Offline orgopete

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... react it with an organic nucleophile like t-Butyl alcohol or something...
An alcohol isn't nucleophilic enough. It needs to be an alkoxide or an amine.
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