Question

2-chlorobutane is undergo elimination with Lioh/alcohol

Answer 1

The E2 Reaction

We have not yet considered the factors that influence elimination reactions, such as example 3 in the group presented at the beginning of this section.

(3) (CH3)3C-Br + CN(–) ——> (CH3)2C=CH2 + Br(–) + HCN

We know that t-butyl bromide is not expected to react by an SN2 mechanism. Furthermore, the ethanol solvent is not sufficiently polar to facilitate an SN1 reaction. The other reactant, cyanide anion, is a good nucleophile; and it is also a decent base, being about ten times weaker than bicarbonate. Consequently, a base-induced elimination seems to be the only plausible reaction remaining for this combination of reactants. To get a clearer picture of the interplay of these factors consider the reaction of a 2º-alkyl halide, isopropyl bromide, with two different nucleophiles.

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