Reactions
Alkyl chlorides are versatile building blocks in organic chemistry. While alkyl bromides and iodides are more reactive, alkyl chlorides tend to be less expensive and more readily available. Alkyl chlorides readily undergo attack by nucleophiles.
Heating alkyl halides with sodium hydroxide or water gives alcohols. Reaction with alkoxides or aroxides give ethers in the Williamson ether synthesis; reaction with thiols give thioethers. Alkyl chlorides readily react with amines to give substituted amines. Alkyl chlorides are substituted by softer halides such as the iodide in the Finkelstein reaction. Reaction with other pseudohalides such as azide, cyanide, and thiocyanate are possible as well. In the presence of a strong base, alkyl chlorides undergo dehydrohalogenation to give alkenes or alkynes.
Alkyl chlorides react with magnesium to give Grignard reagents, transforming an electrophilic compound into a nucleophilic compound. The Wurtz reaction reductively couples two alkyl halides to couple with sodium.
Read more about this topic: Chlorinated Hydrocarbons
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