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Chemists' Guide to Wohl-Ziegler Reaction

The mechanism of the Wohl-Ziegler reaction requires keeping the concentration of Br2 and HBr low to prevent side reactions from ionic addition to the alkene. These reagents are generated in situ from N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) which contains trace amounts of Br2 that is the catalytically active species. A radical initiator like UV light or AIBN is needed to homolytically cleave the Br2 bond.

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Abhishek Pandey
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367 views1 page

Chemists' Guide to Wohl-Ziegler Reaction

The mechanism of the Wohl-Ziegler reaction requires keeping the concentration of Br2 and HBr low to prevent side reactions from ionic addition to the alkene. These reagents are generated in situ from N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) which contains trace amounts of Br2 that is the catalytically active species. A radical initiator like UV light or AIBN is needed to homolytically cleave the Br2 bond.

Uploaded by

Abhishek Pandey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Mechanism of the Wohl-Ziegler Reaction

It is very important to keep the concentration of Br2 and HBr low to prevent side reactions derived from
simple ionic addition with the alkene. These reagents are therefore generated in situ from NBS. The
catalytically active species is Br2, which is almost always present in NBS samples (red colour).

A radical initiator (UV, AIBN) is needed for the homolytic bond cleavage of Br 2 :

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