Why tertiary alkyl halides give #"S"_"N"1# reactions mostly ?

1 Answer
Bio
Jan 2, 2016

They form stable carbocations. #"S"_"N"2# is difficult due to steric hindrance.

Explanation:

It would be hard for the nucleophile to swim its way past the 3 bulky alkyl groups to attack the carbon center in #"S"_"N"2#.

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