A student has repeated the hydrolysis experiment with 2-iodo-2-methylpropane as the alkyl halide and found that the time to colour change was too fast to measure easily. Suggest two ways in which the reaction could be slowed down and by what process the slowing is happening in chemical terms.
Lower the temperature. Can you figure from there?
yes thank you !
To slow down the hydrolysis reaction of 2-iodo-2-methylpropane, there are two possible approaches:
1. Decrease the concentration of the nucleophile: By reducing the concentration of the nucleophile (usually water), you can slow down the reaction rate. The reaction rate in this case depends on the concentration of the nucleophile. By decreasing the concentration of water, the collision frequency between the alkyl halide and water molecules decreases, thus slowing down the reaction rate. This slowing process is known as "collision theory" or "reaction kinetics."
2. Lower the reaction temperature: Another way to slow down the hydrolysis reaction is by reducing the temperature. Lowering the temperature decreases the kinetic energy of the reactant molecules, which reduces the frequency of successful collisions and thus slows down the reaction rate. The reduction in temperature affects the reaction rate because it decreases the number of reactant molecules with enough energy to overcome the activation energy barrier needed for the reaction to occur. This temperature-dependent slowing process is described by the "Arrhenius equation," which relates reaction rate to temperature.
In summary, by reducing the concentration of the nucleophile (water) or lowering the reaction temperature, you can slow down the hydrolysis of 2-iodo-2-methylpropane. The slowing process is explained by collision theory and the Arrhenius equation, which describe the effect of concentration and temperature on reaction rates, respectively.