Addition Reactions of Alkenes

Markovnikov’s rule is a general trend predicting that in the reactions of HX (HCl, HBr, HI) species with unsymmetrical alkenes, the X adds to the more substituted carbon of the double bond. The reason for this is the greater stability … Read more

At the beginning of this chapter, we learned that alkenes are electron-rich species and, therefore, undergo a variety of electrophilic addition reactions. To convert them to epoxides, we want to add an oxygen atom to a double bond. This oxygen … Read more

Diols are compounds containing two hydroxyl groups; therefore, we can view the conversion from alkenes to diols are adding two OH groups across the double bond. These are called dihydroxylation reactions:     Notice that the two OH groups are … Read more

The addition reactions of water to alkenes (hydration of alkenes) can be viewed as adding an H and OH groups to the double bond. There are a few ways of achieving this, and the key difference is the regiochemical outcome … Read more

Why are they Called Addition Reactions? Let’s first understand why the reactions of alkenes are called addition reactions. The general formula of alkenes is CnH2n which is two hydrogens less than alkanes (CnH2n+2). This means alkanes are saturated as there … Read more

Addition of HBr, HCl, and HI to Alkenes The regiochemistry of regioselectivity of a reaction is the preferential formation of one out of two or more possible regioisomers. For example, when an unsymmetrical akene is reacted with a hydrohalic acid … Read more

There are two main ways of converting alkenes to alcohols, and both are hydration reactions of alkenes. One is the acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes, and the other is the hydroboration-oxidation of alkenes. An important difference between these methods is the … Read more