Question

Which of the statement(s) is/are true, regarding following reaction?

(i) The reaction involves the formation of transition state.
(ii) Higher the nucleophilic character of the nucleophile, faster will be the reaction.
(iii) The product is always optically inactive.

• A. (ii)
• B. (ii) and (iii)
• C. All the three
• D. None of the three

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

tert-Alkyl halides undergo $S _{ N } 1$ reactions, hence they involve the formation of quite stable carbocations, and not the transition state. In $S _{ N } 1$ reactions, the nucleophile is not involved in rate determining (first) step, hence its stronger or weaker nature does not influence the reaction rate. In $S _{ N } 1$, the product has more percentage of the inverted configuration than the retained configuration, i.e. only partial racemization takes place, hence the product will be having some optical activity.