Question

Question: Identify the nucleophile and the electrophile in the following acid–base reactions:

Short answer

AlCl₃is an electrophileand NH₃ is a nucleophile.

The H⁺ of HBr is the electrophile and OH^- is the nucleophile.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of Electrophiles

An electrophile is a species that lacks electrons.

"Electrophile" literally translates to "electron loving" (phile is the Greek suffix for "loving"). An electrophile is someone who seeks out a pair of electrons. Electrophiles are easily identifiable because they have a positive charge, a partial positive charge, or an incomplete octet that can accept electrons.

• AlCl₃ is an electrophile because it has an incomplete octet.

• H⁺is an electrophile because it has a positive charge.

Definition of Nucleophiles

A nucleophile is an electron-rich species.

A nucleophile is a non-hydrogen atom that bonds to an electron donor (having an electron pair available for bonding). A base is a hydrogen-bonding electron donor. The alterations that occur when bases or nucleophiles interact are extensive and diverse.

The following compounds are nucleophiles because-

• NH₃and OH^- are nucleophiles because they have a pair of electrons to share.