Is nitrogen more nucleophilic than oxygen?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Dec 23, 2015

Yes, nitrogen is more nucleophilic than oxygen.

Explanation:

A nitrogen atom is larger than an oxygen atom.

Therefore, the outer electrons are held more loosely and are more easily donated as a nucleophile.

So, the order of nucleophilicity is

#"RNH"_2 > "ROH"# and #"NH"_2^(-) > "OH"^-#.

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