Oxymercuration-demercuration is a regioselective hydration mechanism for alkenes that proceeds via organomercury intermediates to avoid carbocation rearrangements, adhering strictly to Markovnikov's rule where the hydroxyl group attaches to the more substituted carbon. The reaction involves anti-addition of water and mercury acetate in an initial concerted step followed by nucleophilic substitution with sodium borohydride to replace the organomercury moiety with hydrogen. As a transformation within organic synthesis, this method converts alkene double bonds into saturated alcohols while preserving stereochemical integrity regarding racemic mixture formation at chiral centers.
Oxymercuration-demercuration is a regioselective hydration mechanism for alkenes that proceeds via organomercury intermediates to avoid carbocation rearrangements, adhering strictly to Markovnikov's …