What is le Chatelier’s Principle?
When we have a chemical reaction that has reached a state of dynamic equilibrium, there will be one particular set
Author: Sarah Parkes
What is position of equilibrium?
I’m sure you will all have seen a strip of magnesium burning in a Bunsen burner flame. It is a
Elimination reactions – dehydrating an alcohol
If we dehydrate an alcohol, we are essentially removing a water molecule and the product will be an alkene. The
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Electrophilic addition in alkenes (3) – reaction with water to form an alcohol
The reaction of an alkene with water to from an alcohol is an example of a hydration reaction. The alkene
Continue readingElectrophilic addition in alkenes (3) – reaction with water to form an alcohol
Electrophilic addition in alkenes (2) – the bromine water test
The classic test for an alkene is to shake your sample with orange bromine water, and if the molecule contains
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Making addition polymers by radical polymerisation
The mechanism for addition polymerisation is another example of a radical reaction. Teflon (PTFE), famously known for its non-stick properties,
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Addition polymers and their properties
Polymers are long chain molecules made via addition polymerisation or condensation polymerisation – the result are all the plastics, fibres
Electrophilic addition reactions in alkenes (1)
Now that you have been introduced to the terminology and fundamental ideas of reaction mechanisms, it is time to focus
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Stabilising carbocations through inductive and mesomeric effects
Inductive and mesomeric effects both play an important role in determining how organic reactions happen through their abilities to stabilise
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How do organic reactions actually happen?
Most reactions take place via two or three steps with short-lived, unstable, intermediate ions bridging the steps from reactants to