Propene reacts with hydrogen chloride to form mostly 2-chloropropane. This reaction does not lead to the formation of 1-chloropropane. Why?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The reaction of propene with hydrogen chloride is a regioselective reaction, which means that the predominant product is determined by the position of the double bond in the starting material. In this case, the double bond is in the middle of the propene molecule, so the hydrogen chloride adds to one side to form 2-chloropropane. The addition of the hydrogen chloride to the other side of the double bond would result in the formation of 1-chloropropane, but this pathway is much less favorable and therefore only a small amount of 1-chloropropane is formed as a byproduct.

Propene Reacts with Hydrogen Chloride to Form Mostly 2-Chloropropane