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Topic: Reaction with HBr/Peroxide: are these products correct?  (Read 4572 times)

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Offline spirochete

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Reaction with HBr/Peroxide: are these products correct?
« on: February 22, 2008, 03:32:46 PM »
I've attatched a picture of a reaction involving the free radical chain addition of HBr to an alkene.  I have an answer key which only has one product: the first one, with the phenyl group attatched.  But wouldn't the intermediate involve a radical that's delocalized around the ring, making it possible for the hydrogen to attatch at a variety of locations in the second step of the mechanism? 

I also included a picture of the reactant as it was drawn in the problem (with the phenyl group abreviated), just in case I'm somehow misinterpreting the structure.

Offline macman104

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Re: Reaction with HBr/Peroxide: are these products correct?
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2008, 12:04:59 AM »
It's true the radical will be delocalized, but the fact that you lose aromaticity with that product will probably mean it will either be so minor or non-existent.  At least thermodynamically it shouldn't be as stable, I'm not sure about kinetics...

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