Another Sn1 question?

Question

Hello. Which would increase the rate of a Sn1 reaction- a polar solvent or non-polar solvent? And why?

Thanks!

Answer 1

polar

This is from the website: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/object...

The higher the dielectric constant, the more polar the solvent. The more polar the solvent, the faster an SN1 reaction goes. Polar solvents stabilize charged transition states of SN1 reactions which resemble a carbocation/leaving group anion intermediate more than they stabilize neutral reactant electrophile molecules. This lowers the activation energy for SN1 reactions.