Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Chemistry

Chapter

Organic: Haloalkanes and Haloarenes

Question:

Statement I: The solvolysis of tert-butyl chloride is carried out in trifluoroethanol with a faster rate

Statement II: The solvent trifluoroethanol has higher ionizing power

Options:

Both statement I and statement II are correct and statement II is the correct explanation of statement I

Both statement I and statement II are correct but statement II is not the correct explanation of statement I

Statement I is correct but statement II is false

Statement I is false but statement II is correct

Correct Answer:

Both statement I and statement II are correct and statement II is the correct explanation of statement I

Explanation:

The answer is (1) both statement I and statement II are correct and statement II is the correct explanation of statement I.

Statement I is correct because tert-butyl chloride undergoes solvolysis in trifluoroethanol at a faster rate. This is because trifluoroethanol is a more polar solvent than other solvents, such as water or ethanol. The increased polarity of trifluoroethanol makes it a better nucleophile, which facilitates the solvolysis reaction.

Statement II is also correct because trifluoroethanol has higher ionizing power than other solvents. This means that it is more likely to produce a carbocation intermediate, which is the rate-determining step in the solvolysis reaction.

The correct explanation for why statement I is correct is that statement II provides the reason for the increased rate. The increased polarity of trifluoroethanol makes it a better nucleophile, which facilitates the solvolysis reaction. The increased ionizing power of trifluoroethanol also makes it more likely to produce a carbocation intermediate, which is the rate-determining step in the solvolysis reaction.

Therefore, both statement I and statement II are correct and statement II is the correct explanation of statement I.

Here is a table that summarizes the properties of the solvents water, ethanol, and trifluoroethanol:

Solvent

Polarity

Ionizing power

Water

Polar

Low

Ethanol

Polar

Moderate

Trifluoroethanol

Very polar

High

As you can see, trifluoroethanol is the most polar and has the highest ionizing power of the three solvents. This makes it the best solvent for the solvolysis of tert-butyl chloride.