Home > Terms > English (EN) > leaving group

leaving group

An atom or group (charged or uncharged) that becomes detached from an atom in what is considered to be the residual or main part of the substrate in a specified reaction.

For example, in the heterolytic solvolysis of benzyl bromide in acetic acid

PhCH2Br + AcOH → PhCH2OAc + HBr

the leaving group is Br- ; in the reaction

MeS- + PhCH2N+Me3 → MeSCH2Ph + NMe3

the leaving group is NMe3; in the electrophilic nitration of benzene, it is H+. The term has meaning only in relation to a specified reaction. The leaving group is not, in general, the same as the substituent group present in the substrate (e.g. bromo and trimethylammonio in the substrates of the first two examples above.)

A slightly different usage of the term prevails in the (non-mechanistic) naming of transformations, where the actual substituent group present in the substrate (and also in the product) is referred to as the leaving group.

0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

Silentchapel
  • 0

    Terms

  • 95

    Blossaries

  • 10

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Religion Category: Christianity

carnival

Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public ...

Contributor

Featured blossaries

Photograpy Framing

Category: Arts   1 55 Terms

East African Cuisine

Category: Food   1 15 Terms