How do alkenes react with bromine water?
1 Answer
They give the halohydrin,
Explanation:
The reaction of
The bromine molecule is polarizable, and is conceived to form a
Since the secondary carbocation is energetically more favoured, the reaction tends to follow this route. Once the first substitution is made however, the substituted olefin now reacts as an electrophile. The most likely nucleophile in bromine water is not
Thus bromine water would give a different product with an olefin, than it would with an olefin in an inert solvent.