BRAINCAKEHydrolysis Reactions
Hydrolysis is the breaking of a bond by reaction with water. Halogenoalkanes are hydrolysed slowly by water to form an alcohol:
R-X + H2O → R-OH + H+ + X−
For example, 1-iodopropane + water → propan-1-ol + H+ + I−. The water molecule acts as a nucleophile, and the halogen leaves as a halide ion. Hydrolysis is much faster with aqueous hydroxide ions, which is covered in later lessons.
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Key terms in this lesson
- nucleophile
- A species with a lone pair of electrons that is attracted to a positive centre and donates the pair to form a new covalent bond.
More in Halogenoalkanes
- Halogenoalkanes
- Naming Halogenoalkanes
- Classifying Halogenoalkanes
- Reactivity of Halogenoalkanes
- Comparing the Rates of Hydrolysis
- Nucleophilic Substitution
- Reaction with Alkali
- Reaction with Aqueous Alkali
All 11 lessons in Halogenoalkanes · All Edexcel AS-level Chemistry topics