A carbon compound X having one carbon atom in it reacts with chlorine ...
X = Methane (CH4)
Y = Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)
Methane in presence of sunlight react with chlorine to replace one of it's hydrogen with a chlorine atom. These type of reactions are called "Substitution Reactions" and they proceed through free radical mechanism. The mechanism is as follows,
Cl2 ---> Cl• + Cl• (chlorine free radicals)
CH4 + Cl• ---> CH3Cl
H + Cl• ---> HCl
The overall reactions when excess chlorine is used are,
CH4 + Cl2 ---> CH3Cl + HCl
CH3Cl + Cl2 ---> CH2Cl2 + HCl
CH2Cl2 + Cl2 ---> CHCl3 + HCl
CHCl3 + Cl2 ---> CCl4 + HCl
(or) CH4 + 4Cl2 --> CCl4 + 4HCl
A carbon compound X having one carbon atom in it reacts with chlorine ...
It's very simple,
X = CH4 (Methane), Y = CCl4 (Carbon tetra Chloride).
As the carbon atom reacts with Chlorine repeatedly in the presence of sunlight to give a compound CCl4 (Carbon tetra Chloride). Here, CCl4 doesn't having Hydrogen atom in it. This would be occurs when the "Substitution reaction" takes place.
Substitution reaction means "Gradual substitute of Hydrogen atoms of the Methane by chlorine atoms in the presence of sunlight".
In this Substitution reaction, the chemical equations involved in this reaction is as below:-
* CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl (Chloro Methane).
* CH3Cl + Cl2 → CH2Cl2 + HCl (Dichloro Methane).
* CH2Cl2 + Cl2 → CHCl3 + HCl (Trichloro Methane/ Chloroform).
* CHCl3 + Cl2 → CCl4 + HCl (Carbon tetra Chloride).
When you observe the above reactions, the substitution is going on. In the first equation, the Methane (CH4)reacting with the Chlorine atoms (Cl2) in the presence of sunlight to form Chloro Methane and Hydrochloric acid gas is produced in this process. Or in other words, Hydrogen atoms present in the Methane gets substituted by the Chlorine atoms in the presence of sunlight. It means, the Chlorine atoms displacing the one atom of Hydrogen present in the Methane. Chlorine atoms would displaces the Hydrogen atoms present in Methane till the Hydrogen will be completely substituted by the Chlorine atoms. So that Methane would loose all the Hydrogen atoms present in it to become a Carbon tetra Chloride finally. Here, in the Carbon tetra Chloride (CCl4) = Y, doesn't have any Hydrogen atom in it.
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