Question

Identify the reagents shown in bold in the following equations as nucleophiles or electrophiles:
(a) $CH_{3}COOH$ + $HO^{-} \longrightarrow CH_{3}COO^{-}$ + H2O
(b) $CH_{3}COCH_{3}$ + $^{-}CN \longrightarrow (CH_{3})_{2}C(CN)(OH)$
(c) $C_{6}H_{5}$ + $CH_{3}\overset{\text{+}}{C}O \longrightarrow C_{6}H_{5}COCH_{3}$

Answer 1

a - OH- ➡️ nucleophile

b - CN- ➡️ nucleophile

c - CH3CO+ ➡️ electrophile.