A real space picture of the role of steric effects in S_N 2 reactions.

ABSTRACT: Within substitution reactions, the Bimolecular Nucleophilic Substitution (S_N 2) reaction mechanism is one of the most frequently found and studied ones. Among other factors, the easiness of the S_N 2 pathway is classically considered to be determined by steric hindrance. However, the diffuse nature of the latter inevitably darkens these and other arguments holding the pillars of chemical intuition. In this work, we employ the steric energy (E_ST ) descriptor, formulated within the Interacting Quantum Atoms approach, to offer insights regarding this problem. The steric demands of the substrate, nucleophile and leaving group were studied using the gas-phase S_N 2 reaction with different organic skeletons (CH₃ , CH₃ CH₂

SUBMITTER: Gallegos M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9314895 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature