Page 1 of 1

neutral charged nucleophile

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:21 am
by Phuong Pham 3G
How do you know if something is a nucleophile if it is not negatively charged? For example, NH3?

Re: neutral charged nucleophile

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:55 am
by Chem_Mod
A molecule with an extra lone pair can also be a nucleophile even though it isn't charged. NH3 has three bonds and a lone pair. The lone pair is a region of electron density which is negative. The lone pair could be used to form a bond with a positive (or partially positive) molecule.

Re: neutral charged nucleophile

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:25 pm
by Justin Le 2I
Also, molecules with double or triple bonds are nucleophiles even though they may be neutrally charged because the double and triple bonds are electron rich regions.