The major product of the following reaction is an alcohol. Which of the following best describes this reaction?
A. SN2 with inversion of configuration
B. SN2 with racemization C. SN1 with inversion of configuration
D. SN1 with racemization
Solution: The leaving group, Br, is attached to the carbon which is attached to three more carbons, which makes this substrate tertiary. SN2 reaction prefers primary, ok with secondary but never tertiary ( too many groups for the backside attack). Therefore, we can eliminate choices A and B. SN1 reaction creates two products, one with the same stereochemistry and one with inversion of stereochemistry , which is called racemic mixture. Choice D is the correct answer.
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