Mechanism Explainer
Step-by-step organic reaction mechanisms with electron-flow curvy arrows and textbook references.
What it does
Paste in any reaction — or pick a textbook preset — and Clara walks through the mechanism step by step. Every step shows the bond event, the curvy-arrow electron flow, the structural reasoning, and a hint for drawing it yourself.
Highlights
- ✓Classification (SN1, SN2, E1, E2, addition, pericyclic, etc.)
- ✓Stereochemistry: inversion, retention, racemisation — with the reason
- ✓Thermodynamic vs kinetic control
- ✓Textbook references (Clayden, March, etc.) per mechanism
What you get back
- →Numbered steps with bond events and electron flow
- →Drawing hints for each curvy arrow
- →Classification + stereochemistry summary
- →Energy / thermodynamic commentary
- →Citations to chapters in standard textbooks
What it looks like
A real example of what Clara returns. (Rendered from the same data the live tool produces.)
Reaction
Solvolysis of (S)-2-bromo-2-methylbutane in water (hydrolysis under neutral, polar protic conditions).
Step 1
Rate-determiningCurvy arrow: electrons of the C–Br bond depart with bromine
Bond event
Heterolytic cleavage of the C–Br bond. The substrate ionises to a tertiary carbocation and bromide.
Electron flow
Both electrons of the C–Br σ bond depart with bromine (heterolysis). The central carbon becomes sp² hybridised and trigonal planar, with an empty p orbital perpendicular to the molecular plane.
Reasoning
Tertiary substrates strongly favour SN1 because the resulting cation is stabilised by hyperconjugation from nine β C–H bonds and by σ-induction from three alkyl groups. Water is polar protic — it stabilises both the developing cation (by ion–dipole) and the bromide (by H-bonding). This is the rate-determining step; by Hammond's postulate the transition state resembles the cation, so anything that stabilises the cation accelerates the reaction.
+2 more steps, classification, stereochemistry, and textbook references…
Example ask
“Solvolysis of (S)-2-bromo-2-methylbutane in water — what's the mechanism and what happens to the stereochemistry?”
Other tools
Grader
Exam-style questions, marked answer-by-answer against the real scheme.
Concept Q&A
Ask anything — orbital theory, reactivity, stereochemistry, kinetics.
Pathway Explainer
Biochemical pathways with regulation, cofactors, and thermodynamics.
Paper Helper
Upload a paper — get a summary, or find exactly where a term appears.