Which would undergo SN1 reactions faster in the following pair?
CH3−CH2−CH2−Br and CH3−CH−CH3 | Br
Open in App
Solution
In the SN1 reaction, the big barrier is carbocation stability. Since the first step of the SN1 reaction is the loss of a leaving group to give a carbocation, the rate of the reaction will be proportional to the stability of the carbocation. Carbocation stability increases with increasing substitution of the carbon (tertiary>secondary>primary) as well as with resonance.