1-Hexene Lab Report

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This experiment will take 1-hexene and HBr, mix them together, and see if 2-bromohexane will form as a final product. If, after the addition of silver nitrate, the solution of mixture 1-hexene and HBr turns a slight yellow color, then Markovnikov’s rule has been followed. Regioselectivity is favored substitution in reactions. It occurs between the addition of a protic acid and an alkene. The hydrogen bond of the acid will bond to the least substituted carbon and the halide bonds to the most substituted carbon. Addition reactions are common chemical transformations of a double bonded carbon. Within a double bonded carbon is a single, weak pi bond and a single sigma bond. The pi bond of the alkene can be broke if a good enough base reacts with…show more content…
HBr is immiscible with alkenes, so attempting to mix them would end up forming two different layers. To prevent this, a phase transfer catalyst, tetra butyl ammonium bromide, is necessary to change HBr from an aqueous phase to an organic phase. Tetrabutyl ammonium bromide is added to the mixture of HBr and 1-hexene. It makes HBr more reactive with 1-hexene by allowing the nucleophile component to attack the electrophile component. To go along with Markovnikov’s law, bromine and hydrogen are mixed with 1-hexene and the product must be 2-bromohexane. In order for reflux to work well in this experiment, rapid stirring must be in effect throughout the whole process. The product yield of 2-bromohexane will be higher when the reaction mixture is thoroughly stirred because HBr alone is immiscible in 1-hexene. When the solution is stirred, it allows for the HBr and 1-hexene to reaction on a higher surface area so that there is a better chance of product forming. When no stirring occurs, what may happen is HBr could react with H2O producing the very weak conjugate acid H3O+. Tetrabutyl ammonium bromide is a phase transfer catalyst that assists HBr’s phase change from aqueous to

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