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Nucleophile Reactions - Addition Type

Learning Objective: To study the three types of addition reactions that nucleophiles undergo.

Skill Level - Intermediate

Prerequisites: 

Chapter: Fundamentals of Organic Reactions

Sub-topic: Nucleophiles

Author's Note: Organic chemistry definition in one sentence is - the reaction of an electrophile with nucleophiles to form carbon compounds with varying structures and functional groups. So, understanding electrophiles and nucleophile reactions is paramount.

After covering the displacement reactions involving nucleophiles as the lead character, I have covered the addition reactions involving nucleophiles here. I have also explained how changing the nucleophile leads to products with a variety of functional groups.

Nucleophile Reactions - Addition Type

The electron-rich pie bonds of the alkenes and alkynes undergo addition reactions where the pie bonds lose their two electrons in exchange for two new covalent bonds. Forming two new covalent bonds instead of one pie bond is highly favourable. 

Electrophilic addition reactions 

Most reactions of alkenes are electrophilic addition reactions. If the pie bond is the nucleophile, it seeks electrophile to undergo electrophilic addition reactions. The electrophilic part comes from the reagent that adds across the double bond.

 

 

Nucleophilic addition reactions

Alkenes have a pie-electron cloud that, in a reaction with another electron-rich nucleophile, will cause repulsion. A reaction with nucleophile will only proceed under special circumstances when the alkene molecule has strong ....

 

Nucleophilic Addition at the Acyl 

The ketones (R-CO-R) and aldehydes (R-CHO) have R and H as the bad leaving group, and, therefore, they commonly react by nucleophilic addition at the carbonyl group to form .....

 

Subscribe to read about the addition reactions a nucleophile would undergo to bring about structural variations.

 

Fundamentals of Organic Reactions
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Common Types of Reactions

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Drawing Organic Structures

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Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry

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Fundamentals of Organic Reactions

  • Types of Arrows Used in Chemistry
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Reactive Intermediates

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Stereoisomerism - Conformation and Configurational Isomerism

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