Explain Saytzeff rule in detail.
Answers
There are haloalkanes that can undergo elimination in two different ways resulting in two different products. Alkenes with less number of hydrogens on the double-bonded carbon atoms are the preferred product. This process is known as Saytzeff’s rule.
Explanation:
Saytzeff’s Rule is also called Zaitsev’s rule, Saytzev’s rule or Z-rule. A Russian Chemist Alexander Zaitsev analysed different elimination reactions and observed a general pattern in the resulting alkenes. Based on this analysis, Zaitsev stated that stable alkene is formed when the removal of hydrogen from β-carbon has a low number of hydrogen substituents.
During elimination reactions, Saytzeff’s Rule comes into the picture. The most substituted product would be the most stable and most preferred one. This rule does not generalize about the product stereochemistry, but only the regiochemistry of the elimination reaction.