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What is the difference between stereo selectivity and Regio selectivity??

What is the difference between stereo selectivity and Regio selectivity??

Grade:12

1 Answers

Arun
25750 Points
6 years ago

Regioselectivity

Let's get started by talking about the 'where' in a chemical reaction. If there are multiple places a chemical reaction could happen, why one region or atom of the compound over another? Regioselectivity in organic chemistry refers to the favoring of a reagent to bond to one atom over another (think 'region' when you see the prefix 'regio-').It turns out that chemists can predict with a high degree of accuracy how a reagent will react simply by looking at the nature of the reagent itself and the substrate it is going to ultimately react with.

Example of Regioselectivity
For example, in the reaction of propene with hydrochloric acid (HCl) two possible products are possible, both of which are called regioisomers (isomers of a compound with the same atom-makeup but different connectivity of the atoms). It turns out however that only one of the products is formed as the major product and only trace amounts of the minor is observed.We can say that the reaction is thus regioselective in the sense that even though two products are possible, only one of them is actually formed.

Stereoselectivity
When a reaction is said to be stereoselective it means that a single stereoisomer is formed even though more than one may be possible. Stereoisomersare compounds that have the same chemical formula, the same atom connectivity, but different three-dimensional orientations.Essentially, a stereoselective reaction always forms a compound with a specific shape and three-dimensional configuration.

Example of Stereoselectivity
A good example of two reactions that are stereoselective are those of butadiene with two alkenes that contain ester functional groups:

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