Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Amide Ion
An amide ion (NH2-) is a strong base and a nucleophile, typically used in organic reactions to deprotonate compounds or to react with electrophiles. However, its strong basicity can lead to side reactions, making it less effective in forming stable carbanions from alkanes, which are generally unreactive due to their saturated nature.
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Carbanion Stability
Carbanions are negatively charged carbon species that are highly reactive and unstable, especially when derived from alkanes. The stability of a carbanion is influenced by the surrounding groups; for alkanes, the lack of electron-withdrawing groups makes it difficult to stabilize the negative charge, thus making the formation of carbanions unfavorable in reactions that favor products.
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Reaction Favorability
In organic chemistry, the favorability of a reaction is determined by the Gibbs free energy change, which considers both enthalpy and entropy. Reactions that lead to more stable products or lower energy states are favored. Since the formation of a carbanion from an alkane using an amide ion does not lead to a more stable product, the reaction is not favored under standard conditions.
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