Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Reaction mechanisms

Stripping down SN2

Nature Chemistry volume 4, pages 522–523 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

The mechanism of the SN2 reaction is fundamental to understanding and controlling the stereochemistry of organic reactions, but surrounding solvent molecules may complicate the textbook picture. Micro-solvation studies have now explored the stereochemical consequences of the presence of one or two solvent molecules.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Schematic of the variation of the potential energy along the minimum energy SN2 pathway for reaction (1).

References

  1. Clayden, J., Greeves, N., Warren, S. & Wothers, P. Organic Chemistry (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Chabinyc, M. L., Craig, S. L., Regan, C. K. & Brauman, J. I. Science 279, 1882–1886 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Viggiano, A. A., Arnold, S. T. & Morris, R. A. Int. Rev. Phys. Chem. 17, 147–184 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Otto, R., Brox, J., Trippel, S., Stei, M., Best, T. & Wester, R. Nature Chem. 4, 534–538 10.1038nchem.1362(2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ashfold, M. N. R. et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 8, 26–53 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Mikosch, J. et al. Science 319, 183–186 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Brouard, M. & Vallance, C. (eds) Tutorials in Molecular Reaction Dynamics (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrew J. Orr-Ewing is in the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK,

    Andrew J. Orr-Ewing

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Orr-Ewing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew J. Orr-Ewing.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Orr-Ewing, A. Stripping down SN2. Nature Chem 4, 522–523 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1377

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1377

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing