What is free radical halogenation used for in industry?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Jun 10, 2015

Some important industrial uses of free radical halogenation include direct chlorination and allylic chlorination.

Explanation:

Direct Chlorination

Direct chlorination is used for the industrial synthesis of dichloromethane (#"CH"_2"Cl"_2#), chloroform (#"CHCl"_3#), carbon tetrachloride (#"CCl"_4#).

Allylic Chlorination

At temperatures above 500 °C, propene reacts with chlorine in a free radical reaction to form allyl chloride (3-chloropropene), which is a precursor in the preparation of epoxy resins.

#"CH"_2"=CH-CH"_3 + "Cl"_2 stackrel("500 – 600 °C")(→) "CH"_2"=CH-CH"_2"Cl"#

Many other industrial chlorocarbons are formed as by-products of the above reactions.

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