Alkyl Halide Reaction Map And Summary

Alkyl Halide Reaction Map

In the last post, we began our discussion of synthesis by starting with the reactions of alkanes. Since we’ve learned only one important class of alkane reactions so far (free-radical halogenation), our “reaction map” was very small.

Table of Contents

1. Key Transformations of Alkyl Halides
2. Substitution Reactions of Alkyl Halides: Why The S_N2 Is Powerful
3. What About The S_N1?
4. Alkyl Halides To Alkenes: Elimination Reactions
5. The Alkyl Halide Reaction Map
6. Notes

1. Key Transformations Of Alkyl Halides

Today we will visit the reactions of a much more synthetically versatile functional group: alkyl halides. Using our analogy to airports, if alkanes can be compared to Bozeman, Montana (not exactly a hub), alkyl halides are more like Denver or ORD. There are many connecting flights!

Here are some of the reactions of alkyl halides we have covered so far, divided by the type of alkyl halide [primary, secondary, and tertiary]. Note that we are excluding alkyl fluorides here, as fluoride is not a good enough leaving group for our purposes.

2. Substitution Reactions Are Extremely Useful For Transforming Alkyl Halides Into A Wide Variety Of Functional Groups

The S_N2 is an extremely versatile reaction from a synthetic standpoint.

Primary alkyl halides can be converted into a wide variety of functional groups – alcohols, ethers, thiols, azides – the list goes on.

Secondary alkyl halides can be used as well, although one has to be careful about competition with elimination reactions if the nucleophile is too basic [a good rule of thumb: species with a pK_a higher than 12 will have a strong enough conjugate base to possibly produce E2 products along with S_N2 products – that means you will need to pay close attention to the conditions you choose. Low temperature and polar aprotic solvents will tend to favor S_N2 over E2. ].

In particular, on the diagram shown below, “strong” bases include hydroxide “HO-“, alkoxide “RO-” and “acetylide” (deprotonated alkyne), although other strong bases [such as NH₂^–] fall into the same category. One prominent exception in many courses is the “bulky” base tert-butoxide [(CH₃)₃CO-] which generally favors elimination over substitution, even on primary alkyl halides.

3. What about the S_N1? 

The most useful application of S_N1 reactions in synthesis is in “solvolysis” reactions, where the alkyl halide is dissolved in a nucleophilic solvent such as water or an alcohol. This works best for tertiary alkyl halides.  The resulting products are either alcohols (in the case of water as solvent) or ethers (when an alcohol is used as a solvent). If you care about preserving stereochemistry [at this stage, you probably don’t] don’t forget that since the S_N1 proceeds through a [flat] carbocation, chiral alkyl halides will form mixtures of stereoisomers.

For secondary alkyl halides, keep in mind that carbocations can be prone to rearrangements if a more stable carbocation can form through an alkyl or hydride shift. For this reason (as well as for preserving stereochemistry) it is generally best to avoid incorporating S_N1 reactions of secondary alkyl halides into a synthesis unless you are really sure that no other competing products will form. Use S_N2 conditions [strong nucleophile, polar aprotic solvent] instead.

4. Alkyl Halides To Alkenes: Elimination Reactions

Elimination reactions are very useful for producing alkenes from alkyl halides. Of the two pathways by which elimination can occur (E1 and E2) the E2 is greatly preferred from a synthetic standpoint since the products of the reaction are much more predictable, it works well with both secondary and tertiary alkyl halides, and is not accompanied by rearrangements.

There are always several things to keep in mind with the E2 reaction.

• the more substituted alkene is generally formed [Zaitsev’s rule]
• the reaction proceeds with “anti” stereoselectivity
• where “cis” or “trans” alkenes can form, the “trans” alkene will be favored due to less steric hindrance
• elimination reactions are favored by heat

What about E1 reactions? Don’t they get some love? Not from a synthetic standpoint. They go through a carbocation, first of all. From a synthetic standpoint, this is bad for three reasons:

• This potentially lead to rearrangements (alkyl or hydride shifts)
• Since carbocations have a trigonal planar geometry, any hope of controlling the stereochemistry of the elimination reaction is thrown out the window.
• Furthermore, E1 reactions are almost always accompanied by S_N1 byproducts, so it’s not an easy reaction to control.

There simply aren’t many situations where the E1 reaction is your best call. Use E2 conditions [strong base, polar protic solvent, heat ] instead.

This covers the main reactions of alkyl halides so far. There are more to learn,  of course, but we haven’t gotten to them yet!

What we’ll do now is update the “reaction map” we made in the last post to reflect all the reactions we talked about.

Test Yourself:

How would you perform the following transformations?

• alkyl halide to alcohol
• alkyl halide to alkene
• alkyl halide to alkyne
• alkyl halide to ether

Use the reaction map below.

5. The Alkyl Halide Reaction Map

Ready? Here it is.

Note: for a more complete reaction map that includes everything in Org 1, you might find the reaction map for alkynes handy.

In the next post on synthesis we’ll go through the reactions of alkenes.

For a large set of reaction maps check out the Reaction Map PDF in the MOC Store.

Notes