Radical Chlorination and Bromination Reactions - Research Paper Example

In most cases, the reactions involving alkanes usually take place under catalyst and high temperatures; however, for chlorination, the reaction is usually facilitated by UV light that initiates the free radical reactions. It is worth noting the amount of energy required to initiate the free radical reaction in halogen usually depends on the position of the reacting halogen within the reactivity series. Bromine is usually very reactive compared to chlorine; therefore, it is expected that chlorination to require more energy to initiate its free radical reaction as the energy that could be required for bromination.

The bromination and chlorination reactions follow the process indicated below (Carey, 2007):  1. Ethane + Bromine = bromoethane + hydrogen bromide+ Br2 = + HBr2. Ethane + Chlorine = chloroethane + hydrogen chloride+ Cl2 ==> + HClIt is worth noting that in the reactions above neither bromine nor chlorine can react in a gaseous state but they must react in aqueous form. Other reactions of halogen with alkanes are possible but under different chemical conditions (Carey, 2007).