Simply Mechanisms 5: SN1. Reaction of 2-bromo-2-methylpropane with aqueous KOH.

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This looks at the mechanism of the reaction of 2-bromo-2-methylpropane with aqueous hydroxide ions. Known as SN1 for short, this stands for substitution nucleophilic first order. 2-bromo-2-methylpropane is a tertiary haloalkane. They undergo SN1 reactions with aqueous hydroxides, while primary haloalkanes undergo SN2 reactions. In SN1 only the haloalkane molecule is involved in the slow rate-determining step. It is known as a unimolecular reaction, where the 1 comes from in SN1. In the SN2 mechanism with primary haloalkanes the haloalkane molecule and hydoxides ion are both involved in the slow step. It is a bimolecular reaction. This is where the 2 comes from in SN2.