SN2 reaction

An SN2 reaction is a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution in which bond formation and bond breaking occur in one concerted step, usually inverting the reacting center’s configuration.

Nucleophilic substitution: A reaction in which a nucleophile replaces a leaving group at an electrophilic atom. SN2 is one of the two principal pathways for nucleophilic substitution.
Nucleophile: An electron-rich species that forms a bond by donating an electron pair to an electrophile. It supplies the electron pair that forms the new bond in an SN2 reaction.
Williamson ether synthesis: A synthesis of ethers by reacting an alkoxide with an alkyl electrophile, commonly through SN2 displacement. It uses SN2 bond formation to connect an oxygen atom to an alkyl group.
SN1 reaction: A unimolecular nucleophilic substitution that proceeds through a carbocation intermediate. SN1 is the main competing substitution pathway and has different kinetics and stereochemical outcomes.
Backside attack: An approach of a nucleophile to an electrophilic center from the side opposite its leaving group. This approach allows bond formation as the leaving-group bond breaks and produces inversion.
Leaving group: An atom or group that departs from a molecule with the electron pair from its broken bond. Its ability to depart helps determine whether the concerted substitution is favorable.
Gabriel synthesis: A method for preparing primary amines by alkylating phthalimide and then releasing the amine. Its alkylation step uses nucleophilic displacement, typically by an SN2 pathway.
E2 reaction: A concerted elimination in which a base removes a proton as a leaving group departs. Strong bases can favor E2 elimination over SN2 substitution.
Walden inversion: The reversal of tetrahedral configuration at a stereogenic center during a substitution reaction. The SN2 pathway flips the reacting center’s spatial arrangement.
Electrophile: An electron-poor species that accepts an electron pair to form a chemical bond. The electrophilic carbon is the site attacked by the SN2 nucleophile.

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