It’s rather a daunting challenge to summarize solvent effects in Organic Chemistry in one single article when there are entire books dedicated to the subject. Solvent effects in nucleophilic substitution reactions can be confusing at best unless one takes the time to explain them in tangible and visual terms. Each semester, I make these sketches to share with students of Organic Chemistry throughout the entire San Diego area. I figured it’s about time to get them into an article so they’re available to anyone who wants to learn the finer points of solvent effects as they relate to nucleophilic substitution reactions. So… what do solvent effects and the Tootsie Pop Owl have in common? Read on…
