Competing reactions eliminations and rearrangements

When nucleophilic substitution reactions are attempted, the expected product may often be accompanied by one or more additional products that arise from competing reactions. Since these competing reactions share features of the nucleophilic substitution mechanism, they are readily rationalized. 

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As the term suggests, a substitution reaction is one in which one group is substituted for another. For nucleophilic substitution, the reagent is a suitable nucleophile and it displaces a leaving group. As we study the reactions further, we shall see that mechanistically related competing reactions, eliminations and rearrangements, also need to be considered. 

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