10.17: Keeping Track of Reactions

E2 Reaction

E2 reactions are typically seen with secondary and tertiary alkyl halides, but a hindered base is necessary with a primary halide. The mechanism by which it occurs is a single step concerted reaction with one transition state. The rate at which this mechanism occurs is second order kinetics, and depends on both the base and alkyl halide. A good leaving group is required because it is involved in the rate determining step. The leaving groups must be coplanar in order to form a pi bond; carbons go from sp³ to sp² hybridization states.

To get a clearer picture of the interplay of these factors involved in a a reaction between a nucleophile/base and an alkyl halide, consider the reaction of a 2º-alkyl halide, isopropyl bromide, with two different nucleophiles. In one pathway, a methanethiolate nucleophile substitutes for bromine in an S_N2 reaction. In the other (bottom) pathway, methoxide ion acts as a base (rather than as a nucleophile) in an elimination reaction. As we will soon see, the mechanism of this reaction is single-step, and is referred to as the E2 mechanism.

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E1 Reaction

An E1 reaction involves the deprotonation of a hydrogen nearby (usually one carbon away, or the beta position) the carbocation resulting in the formation of an alkene product. In order to accomplish this, a Lewis base is required. For a simplified model, we’ll take B to be a Lewis base, and LG to be a halogen leaving group.

As can be seen above, the preliminary step is the leaving group (LG) leaving on its own. Because it takes the electrons in the bond along with it, the carbon that was attached to it loses its electron, making it a carbocation. Once it becomes a carbocation, a Lewis Base (B−) deprotonates the intermediate carbocation at the beta position, which then donates its electrons to the neighboring C-C bond, forming a double bond. Unlike E2 reactions, which require the proton to be anti to the leaving group, E1 reactions only require a neighboring hydrogen. This is due to the fact that the leaving group has already left the molecule. The final product is an alkene along with the HB byproduct.

Dehydration

One way to synthesize alkenes is by dehydration of alcohols, a process in which alcohols undergo E1 or E2 mechanisms to lose water and form a double bond. The dehydration reaction of alcohols to generate alkene proceeds by heating the alcohols in the presence of a strong acid, such as sulfuric or phosphoric acid, at high temperatures.

Primary alcohol dehydrates through the E2 mechanism

Oxygen donates two electrons to a proton from sulfuric acid H₂SO₄, forming an alkyloxonium ion. Then the nucleophile HSO₄^– back-side attacks one adjacent hydrogen and the alkyloxonium ion leaves in a concerted process, making a double bond.

Secondary and tertiary alcohols dehydrate through the E1 mechanism

Similarly to the reaction above, secondary and tertiary –OH protonate to form alkyloxonium ions. However, in this case the ion leaves first and forms a carbocation as the reaction intermediate. The water molecule (which is a stronger base than the HSO_4^- ion) then abstracts a proton from an adjacent carbon, forming a double bond. Notice in the mechanism below that the aleke formed depends on which proton is abstracted: the red arrows show formation of the more substituted 2-butene, while the blue arrows show formation of the less substituted 1-butene. Recall the general rule that more substituted alkenes are more stable than less substituted alkenes, and trans alkenes are more stable than cis alkenes. Thereore, the trans diastereomer of the 2-butene product is most abundant.

Zaitsev's Rule

Zaitsev’s or Saytzev’s (anglicized spelling) rule is an empirical rule used to predict regioselectivity of 1,2-elimination reactions occurring via the E1 or E2 mechanisms. It states that in a regioselective E1 or E2 reaction the major product is the more stable alkene, (i.e., the alkene with the more highly substituted double bond). For example:

If two or more structurally distinct groups of beta-hydrogens are present in a given reactant, then several constitutionally isomeric alkenes may be formed by an E2 elimination. This situation is illustrated by the 2-bromobutane and 2-bromo-2,3-dimethylbutane elimination examples given below.

Contributors

• Organic Chemistry With a Biological Emphasis by Tim Soderberg (University of Minnesota, Morris)

• William Reusch, Professor Emeritus (Michigan State U.), Virtual Textbook of Organic Chemistry

• Gamini Gunawardena from the OChemPal site (Utah Valley University)