Homolytic v Heterolytic Cleavage
Key Questions
-
Homolytic cleavage is the breaking of a covalent bond in such a way that each fragment gets one of the shared electrons.
The word homolytic comes from the Greek homoios, "equal", and lysis, "loosening".
For example, the homolytic cleavage of a Br-Br bond is
Homolytic cleavage produces free radicals — atoms with unpaired valence electrons.
Ernest Z. · 13 · Nov 24 2014
-
Bond cleavage is the splitting of a chemical bond.
There are two types of bond cleavage: homolytic and heterolytic.
In homolytic cleavage, the two electrons in the bond are divided equally between the products.
In heterolytic cleavage, one atom gets both of the shared electrons.
