Sn1 Reactivity Order
Arranging methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and tert-butyl bromides by their tendency to undergo unimolecular nucleophilic substitution, which member reacts fastest and why?
Select the correct option:
Solution
tert-Butyl bromide, because it forms the most stable tertiary carbocation
The slow, rate-determining step of unimolecular substitution is the ionisation of the carbon-halogen bond to give a carbocation, so the reaction is fastest when that carbocation is most stable. Carbocation stability increases from methyl to primary to secondary to tertiary because alkyl groups donate electron density through inductive and hyperconjugative effects, spreading out the positive charge. tert-Butyl bromide forms a tertiary carbocation, the most stabilised of the set, and therefore undergoes SN1 fastest. The methyl-bromide option about least hindrance describes the SN2 preference, not the SN1 trend, since methyl gives the least stable cation. The ethyl-bromide claim is wrong because a primary carbocation is poorly stabilised. The isopropyl-bromide option is incorrect because, although secondary cations are reasonably stable, they are still less stable than the tertiary cation from tert-butyl bromide. The very steric crowding that makes tert-butyl bromide the slowest substrate toward SN2 simultaneously makes it the fastest toward SN1, since once the bulky groups are relieved by ionisation they help stabilise the resulting flat cation. This neat inversion of the reactivity order between the two mechanisms is a frequently tested idea in JEE problems. This follows the NCERT order of carbocation stability. Sanity check: more alkyl substitution gives a more stable cation, so tert-butyl reacts fastest by SN1.
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About This Question
- Subject
- chemistry
- Chapter
- organic compounds containing halogens
- Topic
- sn1 reactivity order
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
tert-Butyl bromide, because it forms the most stable tertiary carbocation
The slow, rate-determining step of unimolecular substitution is the ionisation of the carbon-halogen bond to give a carbocation, so the reaction is fastest when that carbocation is most stable. Carbocation stability increases from methyl to primary to secondary to tertiary because alkyl groups donate electron density through inductive and hyperconjugative effects, spreading out the positive charge. tert-Butyl bromide forms a tertiary carbocation, the most stabilised of the set, and therefore undergoes SN1 fastest. The methyl-bromide option about least hindrance describes the SN2 preference, not the SN1 trend, since methyl gives the least stable cation. The ethyl-bromide claim is wrong because a primary carbocation is poorly stabilised. The isopropyl-bromide option is incorrect because, although secondary cations are reasonably stable, they are still less stable than the tertiary cation from tert-butyl bromide. The very steric crowding that makes tert-butyl bromide the slowest substrate toward SN2 simultaneously makes it the fastest toward SN1, since once the bulky groups are relieved by ionisation they help stabilise the resulting flat cation. This neat inversion of the reactivity order between the two mechanisms is a frequently tested idea in JEE problems. This follows the NCERT order of carbocation stability. Sanity check: more alkyl substitution gives a more stable cation, so tert-butyl reacts fastest by SN1.
This medium difficulty chemistry question is from the chapter organic compounds containing halogens, covering the topic of sn1 reactivity order. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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