Final answer:
The question involves a nucleophilic substitution SN2 reaction between methyl iodide and ethoxide to form ethanol and iodide ion. The reaction mechanism is shown using curved arrows to depict electron movement from ethoxide to the electrophilic carbon and the departure of iodide as a leaving group.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the mechanism of a nucleophilic substitution reaction where methyl iodide reacts with ethoxide. This is a classic SN2 reaction where the ethoxide ion acts as a nucleophile and attacks the carbon attached to the iodine in methyl iodide. The lone pair on the oxygen of the ethoxide ion approaches the methyl carbon from the opposite direction of the leaving group (iodide ion), causing the iodine to leave and forming a new carbon-oxygen bond.
The products of this reaction are ethanol and iodide ion. The reaction can be depicted through a mechanism using curved arrows to illustrate the movement of electrons from the nucleophile (ethoxide) to the electrophile (methyl carbon), and the departure of the iodide leaving group.
Curved Arrow Mechanism: SN2 Reaction
- The lone pair of electrons on the oxygen of the ethoxide ion attacks the electrophilic carbon of methyl iodide.
- A transition state is formed where the carbon is pentavalent, bonding to both the iodide and the ethoxide.
- The iodide acts as a leaving group and is expelled from the molecule, completing the formation of the new bond between the ethoxide and the methyl group, creating ethanol.
The two products of this reaction are ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH) and iodide (I-).