Hydrocarbons

Question

Given below are two statements :

Statement (I) : … reactions are 'stereospecific', indicating that they result in the formation of only one stereo-isomer as the product.

Statement (II) : … reactions generally result in formation of product as racemic mixtures.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below :

Accepted Answer

Option D. Statement (I) explains a characteristic of … (Substitution Nucleophilic Bimolecular) reactions. In … reactions, the attack of the nucleophile and the departure of the leaving group occur simultaneously in a single step. This reaction has a back-side attack mechanism, where the nucleophile attacks the electrophilic carbon from the opposite side of the leaving group. This back-side attack leads to the inversion of configuration at the carbon atom undergoing substitution, a phenomenon often referred to as 'Walden inversion'. Thus, … reactions are stereospecific, leading to the formation of a product with a specific configuration (either inversion or retention of configuration, but typically inversion in the case of …). Therefore, Statement I is true.

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Hydrocarbons

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