Backside Attack: When Nucleophiles Strike!

Organic chemistry Sn2 reaction Nucleophile Substrate Backside attack Cats Reaction mechanism Stereochemistry

Chemistry Science

4 days ago 3,332 views 0 shares

Backside Attack: When Nucleophiles Strike!

chemistry-memes, organic-chemistry-memes, sn2-reaction-memes, nucleophile-memes, substrate-memes | ScienceHumor.io

Chemistry nerds unite! This meme brilliantly captures the SN2 reaction mechanism with cats! In organic chemistry, an SN2 reaction involves a nucleophile (the spotted cat) attacking a substrate (the fluffy cat) from behind in a single step. The "Suddenly from behind!!" caption is perfect because SN2 reactions are characterized by this backside attack, where the nucleophile swoops in from the opposite side of the leaving group. The wide-eyed expression of the substrate cat perfectly captures that moment of electron displacement! Next time your professor talks about inversion of stereochemistry, just picture this ambush!

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