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 (CH2Cl2), chloroform (CHCl3), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4).

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.

CH2=CH-CH3+Cl2500 – 600 °C−−−−−−→CH2=CH-CH2Cl

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

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