The formation of tert-butanol is described by the following chemical equation: Suppose a two-step mechanism is proposed for this
reaction, beginning with this elementary reaction: Suppose also that the second step of the mechanism should be bimolecular. Suggest a reasonable second step. That is, write the balanced chemical equation of a bimolecular elementary reaction that would complete the proposed mechanism.
This reaction has to do with SN1 reaction of alkyl halides. Here tert-butanol is formed from tert-butyl bromide.
The first step in the reaction is the formation of a carbocation. This is a unimolecular reaction. The rate of reaction depends on the concentration of the alkyl halide. This is a slow step and thus the rate determining step in the mechanism.
(CH3)3CBr -------> (CH3)3C^+ + Br^-
The second step is a fast step and it completes the reaction mechanism. It is a bimolecular reaction as follows;
