The conversion of acetyl chloride to methyl acetate occurs via the following two-step mechanism: Reaction sequence of acetyl chl
oride to methyl acetateAccess the text alternative for PROBLEMS Kinetics and Rate Laws 6.49. Add curved arrows to show the movement of the electrons in each step. Write the rate equation for this reaction, assuming the first step is rate-determining. If the concentration of were increased 10 times, what would happen to the rate of the reaction? If the concentrations of both and were increased 10 times, what would happen to the rate of the reaction? Classify the conversion of acetyl chloride to methyl acetate as an addition, elimination, or substitution.
If the concentration of acetyl chloride is increased ten times the rate of reaction is increased ten times.
The conversion of acetyl chloride to methyl acetate is a substitution reaction. Recall that a substitution reaction is one in which a moiety in a molecule is replaced by another.
In this reaction, the CH3O- ion replaces the chloride ion. In the first step, the CH3O- ion attacks the substrate in a slow step. This creates a tetrahedral intermediate. Loss of the chloride ion yields the methyl acetate product.
The rate determining step is the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate. Since the reaction is first order in the acetyl chloride, if its concentration is increased ten times the rate of reaction is increased ten times.