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There are a few factors that contribute in competition of substitution and elimination reaction on haloalkanes. One of them is the solvent, where water encourages substitution and ethanol encourages elimination. I don’t understand why water encourages substitution, and why ethanol encourages elimination. Can you elaborate more on it? Is it because of their chemical properties?

There are a few factors that contribute in competition of substitution and elimination reaction on haloalkanes. One of them is the solvent, where water encourages substitution and ethanol encourages elimination.
 
I don’t understand why water encourages substitution, and why ethanol encourages elimination. 
Can you elaborate more on it? Is it because of their chemical properties?
 

Grade:12th pass

1 Answers

Bhavya
askIITians Faculty 1281 Points
8 years ago
Yes, that’s exactly because of their chemical properties.
Ethanol contains an acidic proton and exists as C2H5O-. It basically acts as base and eliminates acidic proton thereby encouraging elimination process where as water on dissociation gives proton and hydroxide with equal ease and is polar in nature therefore goes for electrostatic forces of attraction between cation and anion and thus substitution.

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