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Chemca - Chemistry Made Easy | JEE, NEET & Board Exam Prep

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Exam Master Review Sheet - Haloalkanes

Exam Master Review Sheet - Haloalkanes

CHEMCA

EXAM MASTER REVIEW SHEET

Organic Chemistry: Haloalkanes

Substitutions, Eliminations & Grignard Reagents

1. Nature of C-X Bond & Properties

Haloalkanes ($R-X$) contain a polarized covalent bond due to electronegativity difference.

Bond Strength & Length

Bond length: $C-I > C-Br > C-Cl > C-F$

Bond Enthalpy: $C-F > C-Cl > C-Br > C-I$

Reactivity $\propto$ 1/Bond Strength. $R-I$ is most reactive.

Boiling Point (B.P.)

B.P. $\propto$ Molecular Mass & Surface Area.

  • $R-I > R-Br > R-Cl > R-F$
  • Straight chain > Branched chain (due to surface area).

2. Methods of Preparation

From Alcohols

Lucas Reagent: $ROH + HCl/ZnCl_2 \rightarrow RCl$
Thionyl Chloride: $ROH + SOCl_2 \rightarrow RCl + SO_2 \uparrow + HCl \uparrow$ (Best method as byproducts are gases).
• $PCl_5 / PCl_3$ reactions.

Halogen Exchange

Finkelstein: $R-X + NaI \xrightarrow{Acetone} R-I + NaX$
Swarts: $R-X + AgF \rightarrow R-F + AgX$ (For alkyl fluorides).

3. Nucleophilic Substitution Mechanisms

Feature SN1 Mechanism SN2 Mechanism
Kinetics Unimolecular ($1^{st}$ Order) Bimolecular ($2^{nd}$ Order)
Intermediate Carbocation (Rearranges) Transition State (Pentacoordinate)
Reactivity $3^\circ > 2^\circ > 1^\circ$ $1^\circ > 2^\circ > 3^\circ$ (Steric hindrance)
Stereochemistry Racemization Walden Inversion
Solvent Polar Protic ($H_2O, EtOH$) Polar Aprotic ($DMSO, DMF, Acetone$)

4. Elimination & Reactions with Metals

Dehydrohalogenation ($\beta$-Elimination)

Reagent: Alcoholic KOH. Follows Saytzeff Rule (Highly substituted alkene is major).

Grignard Reagent ($R-Mg-X$)

Formation: $R-X + Mg \xrightarrow{Dry Ether} R-Mg-X$

Highly sensitive to moisture!

$RMgX + H_2O \rightarrow R-H + Mg(OH)X$

Wurtz Reaction

Coupling of two alkyl groups.

$2RX + 2Na \xrightarrow{Dry Ether} R-R + 2NaX$

*Methane cannot be prepared by this method.*

5. Essential Stereochemistry Terms

Chirality

Non-superimposable mirror image. Requires asymmetric carbon.

Enantiomers

Stereoisomers related as object and mirror image.

Racemic Mixture

50:50 mixture of $d$ and $l$ forms. Optically inactive.

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