Question

Explain the following observation. Treatment of alkyl chloride A with NaOCH2CH3 yields only one product B, whereas treatment of A with very dilute base in CH3CH2OH yields a mixture of B and C, with C predominating. Select the single best answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

Shifting from concentrated to dilute dilute base switch the mechanism from E2 to E1.

Explanation:

An elimination reaction is known as an organic reaction that involves two substituents being removed from a compound in either one step or two steps mechanism. The one step mechanism is referred to as the E2 (bimolecular elimination) reaction while the two steps mechanism is referred to as the E1 (unimolecular elimination) reaction. In the presence of concentrated base, the mechanism of the reaction is one step mechanism while in the presence of dilute base, the mechanism of the reaction is a two steps mechanism. Therefore, shifting from concentrated to dilute base will automatically switch the mecahnism from E2 reaction to E1 reaction.