Organic Chemistry Hydrohalogenation Reactions

Our first video covering reactions in Organic Chemistry! Watch this lesson on hydrohalogenation of alkenes using HBr and HBR with ROOR, one of the first addition reactions taught in organic chemistry. A key concept covered in this lesson is carbon priority, which is a way of describing how many carbon-carbon bonds a carbon atom has. A carbon atom with a carbon priority of 3 (tertiary) would mean that it has 3 bonds that are connected to carbons. The addition of another molecule, such as bromine in the case of HBr or chlorine in the case of HCl, is dependent on the carbon priority of each carbon atom on either side of the alkene double bond. If the addition occurs more often on the higher priority carbon, it is known as a Markovnikov Addition. If the addition occurs specifically on the lower priority carbon, it is known as an Anti-Markovnikov Addition. An alkene reaction with HBr will yield a Markovnikov product, where an alkene reaction with HBr/ROOR (peroxide) will yield an Anti-Markovinikov product.

Follow along using our Reaction Solver tool to create your own alkene molecule and predict what product you expect based on the reaction you run. Subscribe to our channel to stay up to date with all of our lessons and website developments!