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Topic: Halogenation  (Read 13525 times)

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Offline Schrödinger

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Re: Halogenation
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2010, 01:21:54 AM »
If Br was missing just ONE electron it would be called a Free Radical; and would end up attacking the H on the methyl instead.

Since Br is 2 electrons short, it makes sense that it attacks the double bond on the aromatic ring, and then the rest of the rxn follows as showed in that flash.
A free radical is just a neutral atom. There are no electrons missing.
FeBr3 is a Lewis acid (accepts a pair of electrons). So, it causes Br2 to split into Br+ and Br-. Br- is accepted by FeBr3, since Br- is a Lewis base.

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Why does it refer to Br as Br+ instead of Br 2+ in that case?
So, after Br2 splits, what's left is Br+, because Br- is accepted by FeBr3. This is what attacks the electron rich benzene ring.
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