Haloalkanes and Haloarenes

These flashcards cover the key vocabulary related to haloalkanes and haloarenes, focusing on definitions, reactions, and properties.

Haloalkane

A hydrocarbon compound derived from an alkane by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms with halogen atoms.

Haloarene

A hydrocarbon compound derived from an arene by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms with halogen atoms.

Electrophilic Substitution

A reaction where an electrophile replaces a substituent in an aromatic compound.

SN1 Reaction

Substitution Nucleophilic Unimolecular reaction; a two-step process where the rate depends only on the concentration of the alkyl halide.

SN2 Reaction

Substitution Nucleophilic Bimolecular reaction; a one-step process where the rate depends on the concentration of both the alkyl halide and the nucleophile.

Carbocation

An ion with a positively charged carbon atom, often formed as an intermediate in SN1 reactions.

Ambident Nucleophile

A nucleophile that can attack the electrophile at two different sites.

Vinyl halide

A compound where a halogen is bonded to an sp2 hybridized carbon atom of a carbon-carbon double bond.

Allylic halide

A compound where the halogen atom is bonded to a carbon adjacent to a carbon-carbon double bond.

Benzylic halide

A compound where the halogen atom is bonded to a carbon that is attached to an aromatic ring.

Reactivity Order in SN2

Reactivity decreases in the order: Methyl > Primary > Secondary > Tertiary.

Zaitsev's Rule

In elimination reactions, the more substituted alkene is typically the major product.

Grignard Reagent

Organometallic compounds formed by reacting alkyl or aryl halides with magnesium.

Chirality

A property of a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image.

Optical Activity

The ability of a compound to rotate plane polarized light due to the presence of chiral centers.

Dichloromethane

An organic compound used as a solvent, also known as methylene chloride.

Freon

A class of compounds commonly used as refrigerants, known for being stable and non-toxic.

DDT

A synthetic pesticide effective against insects, known for its stability and environmental persistence.

Racemization

The process in which an optically active compound is converted into a racemic mixture, losing optical activity.

Solubility of Haloalkanes

Haloalkanes are often less soluble in water due to their polar nature but soluble in organic solvents.