Themes > Science > Chemistry > Organic Chemistry > Common Reaction Mechanisms > Electrophilic Addition to Alkenes


Electrophillic addition to alkenes generally takes the following form:

general form for electrophilic addition

E+ = Electrophile
Nuc: = Nucleophile

General Mechanism: The first step requires a powerful electrophile to attract the pi bond electrons, which then forms a carbocation. A nucleophile quickly adds to the carbocation to form the monosubstituted product.

Types of Electrophilic Addition:

  • Hydroxylation
  • Hydrogenation
  • Halogenation
  • Oxidative Cleavage
  • Hydration
  • Epoxidation
  • Cyclopropanation
  • Halohydrin Formation

Orientation of Addition: Electrophilic Addition adds to give the Markovnikov Product, with the nucleophile added to the more highly substituted carbon. This is because the carbocation intermediate is significantly stabilized by alkyl substituents.

Example of Electrophilic Addition to Alkenes:

example


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