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Question

Why dry ether medium is needed for the Wurtz reaction?


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Solution

Wurtz reaction:

  • Wurtz reaction is employed for the synthesis of higher alkanes from alkyl halides in the condition of sodium in dry ether.
  • It is used for the preparation of alkanes having an even number of carbon atoms.
  • The mechanism involves a radical mechanism for cleavage of alkyl and halogen bond and nucleophilic substitution reaction for carbon-carbon bond formation.
  • The general form of the Wurtz reaction equation can be written as follows:

2R-X(aq)+2Na(s)DryetherR-R(g)+2NaX(aq)

Role of dry ether in reaction:

  • The sodium metal used in the reaction is highly reactive so a suitable solvent must be used that would not react with sodium.
  • The alkyl halide also has to dissolve in the solvent.
  • The sodium halide generated must be insoluble in a solvent that can easily be removed, whereas the resultant alkane must remain in the solution.
  • The reaction medium must be an aprotic solvent due to the reaction condition. Dry ether is an ideal non-polar, aprotic solvent for this.

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