The Truth about Substitution and Elimination Reactions

Abstract Closer examination of experiments reveal that the SN1, Sn2, E1, and E2 mechanisms oversimplify the true richness of substitution and elimination reactions. Examples include the fact that a backside attack can take place at tertiary atoms, that ion pairs intervene, providing the means for both retention and inversion of stereochemistry to take place, and that elimination occurs along a spectrum of pathways.