Nucleophile
Nucleophile
Nucleophile (/ˈnjuːklɪəfaɪl/; from the Greek: nucleus, "nucleus" and philos, "loving") is a chemical species that donates an electron pair to an electrophile to form a chemical bond in a reaction. Nucleophiles can be ions (like the cyanide ion or hydroxide ion) or molecules (like water or ammonia). Nucleophiles may take part in nucleophilic substitutions, whereby a nucleophile becomes covalently bonded to a carbon atom.
Etymology
The term "nucleophile" comes from the Greek words "nucleus" meaning "kernel" or "core", and "philos" meaning "loving". This refers to the "nucleus-loving" behavior of the nucleophiles, as they are attracted to the positively charged nuclei of atoms.
Related Terms
- Electrophile: An electrophile is a reagent attracted to electrons that participates in a chemical reaction by accepting an electron pair in order to bond to a nucleophile.
- Nucleophilic substitution: This is a fundamental class of reactions in which a nucleophile selectively bonds with or attacks the positive or partially positive charge of an atom or a group of atoms to replace a leaving group.
- Leaving group: A leaving group is a molecular fragment that departs with a pair of electrons in heterolytic bond cleavage.
- Nucleophilic addition: This is the addition of a nucleophile and a proton to a substrate molecule.
- Nucleophilic abstraction: This is a type of an organic reaction in which a nucleophile displaces a leaving group and replaces it.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Nucleophile
- Wikipedia's article - Nucleophile
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