General Organic Chemistry
12.0 Breaking and forming of bonds
12.0 Breaking and forming of bonds
There are two possible ways by which a covalent bond can break.
(a) Homolytic cleavage
(b) Heterolytic cleavage
(a) Homolytic cleavage: The covalent bond between two elements can break in such a way that each element retains an electron of the bonding pair.
Example:
The resulting fragments are called free radicals. Both have an unpaired electron (odd electron).
(b) Heterolytic cleavage: The bond between the two elements can break in another way in which one element retains the bonding pair and the other looses,
Example:
As one element has lost and the other has gained an electron, positively and negatively charged ions (i.e. ion pair) are formed. This process of breaking of bonds is called heterolysis.
