Organic Chemistry, Second Edition

Janice Gorzynski Smith

University of Hawai’i

Chapter 10
Alkenes
Prepared by Rabi Ann Musah
State University of New York at Albany

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
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 Alkenes
Introduction: Structure and Bonding
• Alkenes are also called olefins.
• Alkenes contain a carbon—carbon double bond.
• Terminal alkenes have the double bond at the end of
the carbon chain.
• Internal alkenes have at least one carbon atom bonded
to each end of the double bond.
• Cycloalkenes contain a double bond in a ring.

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 Alkenes

Introduction: Structure and Bonding

• Recall that the double bond consists of a  bond and a

 bond. The  bond is stronger than the  bond.

• Each carbon is sp2 hybridized and trigonal planar, with

bond angles of approximately 120°.

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 Alkenes
Introduction: Structure and Bonding

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

• Always choose the longest chain that contains both

atoms of the double bond.
• Compounds with two double bonds are named as
dienes by changing the “-ane” ending of the parent
alkane to the suffix “–adiene”. Compounds with
three double bonds are named as trienes, and so
forth.

CH2=CH-CH=CH2 CH2=CH-CH=CH-CH=CH2
1,3-butadiene 1,3,5-hexatriene

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

• In naming cycloalkenes, the double bond is located

between C1 and C2, and the “1” is usually omitted in
the name. The ring is numbered clockwise or
counterclockwise to give the first substituent the
lower number.
• Compounds that contain both a double bond and a
hydroxy group are named as alkenols and the chain
(or ring) is numbered to give the OH group the lower
number.

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:
Figure 10.1 Naming an
alkene in which the
longest carbon chain
does not contain both
atoms of the double bond

Figure 10.2
Examples of
cycloalkene
nomenclature

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:

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 Alkenes
Nomenclature of Alkenes:
• Some alkene or alkenyl substituents have common names.
• The simplest alkene, CH2=CH2, named in the IUPAC system
as ethene, is often called ethylene.

Figure 10.3 Naming alkenes with common substituent names

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 Alkenes
Physical Properties:
• Most alkenes exhibit only weak van der Waals interactions, so
their physical properties are similar to alkanes of comparable
molecular weight.
• Alkenes have low melting points and boiling points.
• Melting and boiling points increase as the number of carbons
increases because of increased surface area.
• Alkenes are soluble in organic solvents and insoluble in water.
• The C—C single bond between an alkyl group and one of the
double bond carbons of an alkene is slightly polar because the
sp3 hybridized alkyl carbon donates electron density to the sp2
hybridized alkenyl carbon.

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 Alkenes
Physical Properties:
• A consequence of this dipole is that cis and trans isomeric
alkenes often have somewhat different physical properties.
• cis-2-Butene has a higher boiling point (4°C) than trans-2-butene
(1°C).
• In the cis isomer, the two Csp3—Csp2 bond dipoles reinforce each
other, yielding a small net molecular dipole. In the trans isomer,
the two bond dipoles cancel.

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 Alkenes
Preparation of Alkenes:
• Alkenes can be prepared using elimination reactions:
1. Dehydrohalogenation of alkyl halides.

2. Dehydration of alcohols.

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 Alkenes
Preparation of Alkenes:
• Remember, these elimination reactions are
regioselective and stereoselective, so the most stable
alkene is usually formed as the major product.

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 Alkenes
Introduction to Addition Reactions (see also Chapt. 6):
• The characteristic reaction of alkenes is addition: the  bond
is broken and two new  bonds are formed.
No pi bond

• Alkenes have exposed electrons, with the electron density of

the  bond above and below the plane of the molecule.
• Because alkenes are electron rich, simple alkenes do not react
with nucleophiles or bases, reagents that are themselves
electron rich. Alkenes react with electrophiles.
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 Alkenes
Introduction to Addition Reactions:
• Because the carbon atoms of a double bond are both trigonal
planar, the elements of X and Y can be added to them from the
same side or from opposite sides.

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 Alkenes
Introduction to Addition Reactions:
Figure 10.8 Five addition reactions of cyclohexene

No pi bond
in products

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 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Electrophilic Addition of HX

• Two bonds are broken in this reaction: the weak  bond of the
alkene and the HX bond, and two new  bonds are formed: one
to H and one to X.
• Recall that the H—X bond is polarized, with a partial positive
charge on H. Because the electrophilic H end of HX is attracted
to the electron-rich double bond, these reactions are called
electrophilic additions.
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 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Electrophilic Addition of HX
To draw the products of an addition reaction:

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 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Electrophilic Addition of HX
• The mechanism of electrophilic addition consists of two
successive Lewis acid-base reactions. In step 1, the alkene is
the Lewis base that donates an electron pair to H—Br, the
Lewis acid, while in step 2, Br¯ is the Lewis base that donates
an electron pair to the carbocation, the Lewis acid.

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 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Markovnikov’s Rule
• With an unsymmetrical alkene, HX can add to the
double bond to give two constitutional isomers, but
only one is actually formed:

• This is a specific example of a general trend called

Markovnikov’s rule.
• Markovnikov’s rule states that in the addition of HX to
an unsymmetrical alkene, the H atom adds to the less
substituted carbon atom, that is, the carbon that has
the greater number of H atoms to begin with. 26
 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Markovnikov’s Rule
• The basis of Markovnikov’s rule is the formation of a
carbocation in the rate-determining step of the mechanism.
• In the addition of HX to an unsymmetrical alkene, the H atom is
added to the less substituted carbon to form the more stable,
more substituted carbocation.

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 Alkenes
Hydrohalogenation: Markovnikov’s Rule
Figure 10.11 Electrophilic
addition and the Hammond According to the Hammond
postulate postulate, Path [2] is faster because
formation of the carbocation is an
endothermic process. Thus, the
transition state to form the more
stable 2° carbocation is lower in
energy.

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 Alkenes
Hydration: Electrophilic Addition of Water

• Hydration is the addition of water to an alkene to form an

alcohol.

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 Alkenes
Hydration: Electrophilic Addition of Water

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 Alkenes
Halogenation: Addition of Halogen
• Halogenation is the addition of X2 (X = Cl or Br) to an
alkene to form a vicinal dihalide.

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 Alkenes
Halogenation: Addition of Halogen
• Halogens add to  bonds because halogens are
polarizable.
• The electron rich double bond induces a dipole in an
approaching halogen molecule, making one halogen atom
electron deficient and the other electron rich (X+—X–).
• The electrophilic halogen atom is then attracted to the
nucleophilic double bond, making addition possible.
• Two facts demonstrate that halogenation follows a
different mechanism from that of hydrohalogenation or
hydration.
No rearrangements occur
Only anti addition of X2 is observed
These facts suggest that carbocations are not 33
intermediates.
 Alkenes
Halogenation: Addition of Halogen

Carbocations are unstable because

they have only six electrons around
carbon. Halonium ions are unstable
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because of ring strain.
 Alkenes
Halohydrin Formation:

Treatment of an alkene with a halogen X2 and H2O forms

a halohydrin by addition of the elements of X and OH to
the double bond.

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 Alkenes
Halohydrin Formation:
• Although the combination of Br2 and H2O effectively
forms bromohydrins from alkenes, other reagents
can also be used.
• Bromohydrins are also formed with
N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in aqueous DMSO
[(CH3)2S=O].
• In H2O, NBS decomposes to form Br2, which then
goes on to form a bromohydrin by the same reaction
mechanism.

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 Alkenes
Halohydrin Formation:
As in the acid catalyzed ring opening of epoxides,
nucleophilic attack occurs at the more substituted
carbon end of the bridged halonium ion because that
carbon is better able to accommodate the partial
positive charge in the transition state.

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 Alkenes
Hydroboration - Oxidation:

Hydroboration—oxidation is a two-step reaction

sequence that converts an alkene into an alcohol.

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 Alkenes

Hydroboration - Oxidation:

Hydroboration—oxidation results in the addition of H2O

to an alkene.

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 Alkenes

Hydroboration - Oxidation:
BH3 is a reactive gas that exists mostly as a dimer, diborane
(B2H6). Borane is a strong Lewis acid that reacts readily with
Lewis bases. For ease of handling in the laboratory, it is
commonly used as a complex with tetrahydrofuran (THF).

The first step in hydroboration—oxidation is the addition of the

elements of H and BH2 to the  bond of the alkene, forming an
intermediate alkylborane.

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 Alkenes

Hydroboration - Oxidation:

With unsymmetrical alkenes, the boron atom bonds to

the less substituted carbon atom.

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 Alkenes
Hydroboration - Oxidation:
Figure 10.16 Hydroboration of an unsymmetrical alkene

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 Alkenes
Hydroboration - Oxidation:
• Since alkylboranes react rapidly with water and
spontaneously burn when exposed to air, they are
oxidized, without isolation, with basic hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2, ¯OH).
• Oxidation replaces the C—B bond with a C—O bond,
forming a new OH group with retention of configuration.
• The overall result of this two-step sequence is syn
addition of the elements of H and OH to a double bond
in an “anti-Markovnikov” fashion.

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 Alkenes
Oxymercuration – Demercuration:
This is a two step reaction.
1. Oxymercuration using Hg(OAc)2 and HOH
2. Reduction using NaBH4 and OH¯
Step 1 of the mechanism forms a cyclic
mercurinium ion requiring anti attack of the
nucleophile (HOH).
Step 2 is a sodium borohydride reduction of the
C-HgOAc bond.
Water yields a Markovnikov alcohol, however, no
C+ is formed so, no rearrangement is possible.

The benefit of this reaction is a Markovnikov product

with no rearrangement. 45
 Alkenes
Oxymercuration – Demercuration:

OH
1. Hg(OAc)2 H2O
CH CH2 CH CH2 CH CH2
+ -H+
HgOAc HgOAc

OH OH
2. NaBH4 / OH
CH CH2 CH CH3 + Hg
HgOAc

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 Alkenes
Alkoxymercuration – Demercuration:
Mechanism is the same as before.
1. Alkoxymercuration using Hg(OAc)2 and
ROH
2. Reduction using NaBH4 and OH¯
Step 1 of the mechanism forms a cyclic
mercurinium ion requiring anti attack of the
nucleophile (ROH).
Step 2 is a sodium borohydride reduction of the
C-HgOAc bond.
An alcohol yields a Markovnikov ether, again, no
C+ is formed so, no rearrangement is
possible.
The benefit of this reaction is a Markovnikov
product with no rearrangement. 47
 Alkenes
Alkenes in Organic Synthesis:
Suppose we wish to synthesize 1,2-dibromocyclohexane from
cyclohexanol.

To solve this problem we must:

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 Alkenes
Alkenes in Organic Synthesis:
Working backwards from the product to determine the starting
material from which it is made is called retrosynthetic analysis.

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Organic Chemistry, Second Edition

Janice Gorzynski Smith

University of Hawai’i

End Chapter 10

Prepared by Rabi Ann Musah

State University of New York at Albany

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
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