Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Direct ab initio molecular dynamics study on a microsolvated SN2 reaction of OH-(H2O) with CH3Cl
1Division of Materials Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan. hiroto@eng.hokudai.ac
Abstract:
Reaction dynamics for a microsolvated SN2 reaction OH-(H2O)+CH3Cl have been investigated by means of the direct ab initio molecular dynamics method. The relative center-of-mass collision energies were chosen as 10, 15, and 25 kcal/mol. Three reaction channels were found as products. These are (1) a channel leading to complete dissociation (the products are CH3OH+Cl- +H2O: denoted by channel I), (2) a solvation channel (the products are Cl-(H2O)+CH3OH: channel II), and (3) a complex formation channel (the products are CH3OH...H2O+Cl-: channel III). The branching ratios for the three channels were drastically changed as a function of center-of-mass collision energy. The ratio of complete dissociation channel (channel I) increased with increasing collision energy, whereas that of channel III decreased. The solvation channel (channel II) was minor at all collision energies. The selectivity of the reaction channels and the mechanism are discussed on the basis of the theoretical results.
Related Concept Videos
02:14SN2 Reaction: Kinetics
In a chemical reaction, a relationship exists between the concentration of reactants and the rate at which the reaction proceeds. The study to measure this relationship is known as the kinetics of a chemical reaction. Kinetic studies are used to deduce the rate law of a chemical reaction, which provides information about the species involved during the transition state of the rate-determining step. Thus, kinetic studies help to derive the mechanism of a reaction.
02:25SN1 Reaction: Mechanism
Firstly, the haloalkane ionizes to generate a carbocation intermediate and a halide ion. This heterolytic cleavage is highly endothermic with large activation energy. The ionization of the substrate, facilitated by a polar...
02:34Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions
In 1896, the German chemist Paul Walden discovered that he could interconvert pure enantiomeric (+) and (-) malic acids through a series of reactions. This conversion suggested the involvement of optical inversion during the substitution reaction. Further, in 1930, Sir Christopher Ingold described for the first time two different forms of nucleophilic substitution reactions, which are known as SN1 (nucleophilic substitution unimolecular) and SN2 (nucleophilic substitution...
01:26Radical Substitution: Hydrogenolysis of Alkyl Halides with Tributyltin Hydride
The bonds formed in this reaction are stronger than the bonds broken, making it energetically favorable. The reaction follows a radical chain mechanism similar to radical halogenation reactions,...
02:05SN1 Reaction: Kinetics
However, Sir Christopher Ingold and Edward D. Hughes, who studied the kinetics of various nucleophilic substitution reactions, noticed that a tertiary alkyl halide does undergo a nucleophilic substitution reaction in the presence of a weak nucleophile. While studying the substitution...
02:27SN2 Reaction: Mechanism
The presence of the more electronegative halogen in the substrate creates a polarized carbon-halide bond. The halide pulls the electron cloud generating an electrophilic center at the carbon atom. Thus, the carbon atom carries a partial positive charge while the halide has a...