Question

Why is Chlorine an electrophile?

Answer 1

Electrophile:

• Electrophiles are entities that are electron-deficient yet attracted to an electron-rich center.
• Electrophiles accept an electron pair in order to establish a connection with a nucleophile that includes proton and base interactions.

Chlorine:

• The atomic number or the number of electrons in Chlorine is 17.
• When Chlorine is attached to the carbon, carbon obtains a partial positive charge, whereas Chlorine ($\mathrm{Cl}$) gains a partial negative charge.
• In this case, the electrophile will be the positively charged Carbon ($\mathrm{C}$).
• Chlorine is also a nucleophile, as can be seen in organic chemistry's halide reactions.
• In order to attack a double bond in alkene, Halogens can act as electrophiles.
• A region of electron density represents a double bond and thus functions as a nucleophile.

Hence, Chlorine is both an electrophile and a nucleophile.