Some alkyl halides undergo substitutionn whereas some undergo elimination reaction on treatment with bases. Discuss the structural features of alkyl halides with the help of examples which are responsible for this difference.

Some alkyl halides undergo substitutionn whereas some undergo eliminat

1.	Some alkyl halides undergo substitutionn whereas some undergo elimination reaction on treatment with bases. Discuss the structural features of alkyl halides with the help of examples which are responsible for this difference.
Answer» Solution :Primary and secondary alkyl halides PREFER to undergo substitution reactions by `S_(N)2` mechanism while tert-alkyl halides prefer to undergo elimination reactions due to the formation of stable carbocations. For example 'n-butyl' bromide and sec-butyl bromide on treatment with aqueous KOH undergo substitution reactions to afford the corresponding alcohols, i.e., n-butyl alcohol and sec-butyl alcohol respectively. in contrast tert-butyl bromide on treatment with aqueous KOH preferentially undergoes elimination to form isobutylene as the MAJOR product. WRITE EQUATIONS yourself.