How does concentration affect SN1 reactions?
1 Answer
Increasing the concentration of the nucleophile has no effect on the rate of reaction. Increasing the concentration of the substrate increases the rate.
The hydrolysis of t-butyl bromide is a typical
t-Bu-Br + H₂O → t-Bu-OH + HBr
The mechanism of the reaction is
The reaction involves two separate steps.
First the leaving group departs, and then the nucleophile attacks the carbocation.
The first step is the rate-determining step.
The rate law for the reaction is then
The rate law does not involve
The rate law does involve
Likewise, decreasing the concentration of the substrate decreases the rate.