Can a a compound with a lone pair of electrons such as #NH_3# be a nucleophile?

1 Answer
Callum S.
Nov 10, 2014

'Nucleophile' means 'nucleus loving' and is any group that attaches to a species with a positive charge, such as #Rb^+#, #Cs^+# or #Fr^+#.

#NH_3# (ammonia) can be a nucleophile, as can other Lewis bases, as they are electron donors. A Lewis base is any compound that reacts with a Lewis acid, such as #H_3C^-#, #H_2N^-# or #H_2Sb^-#. A Lewis acid is any substance that reacts with a Lewis base, such as #Li^+#, #Na^+#, #K^+#, #Rb^+# or #Cs^+#.

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