Oxymercuration reaction
In organic chemistry, the oxymercuration reaction is an electrophilic addition reaction that transforms an alkene (R2C=CR2) into a neutral alcohol. In oxymercuration, the alkene reacts with mercuric acetate (AcO−Hg−OAc) in aqueous solution to yield the addition of an acetoxymercury (−HgOAc) group and a hydroxy (−OH) group across the double bond. Carbocations are not formed in this process and thus rearrangements are not observed. The reaction follows Markovnikov's rule (the hydroxy group will always be added to the more substituted carbon). The oxymercuration part of the reaction involves anti addition of OH group but the demercuration part of the reaction involves free radical mechanism and is not stereospecific, i.e. H and OH may be syn or anti to each other.
Oxymercuration followed by reductive demercuration is called an oxymercuration–reduction reaction or oxymercuration–demercuration reaction. This reaction, which is almost always done in practice instead of oxymercuration, is treated at the conclusion of the article.