Question

Experts kindly explain- Why hydrocarbon doesnt react with chlorine in dark for qs.10.5 of haloalkanes chp.!

Answer 1

1. Hydrocarbons react with halogens via free radical mechanism.

2. In this, initiation step is as follows:

Cl₂ $\stackrel{h\nu }{\to }$ 2 Cl^​.

3. If the reaction is carried out in dark, the initiation step will not be able take place. Thus reaction is not possible.