Cleavage of Bonds

The reactions in organic chemistry occur through the breaking and making of bonds. Bonds can cleave in either of two ways:

• Homolytic cleavage
• Heterolytic cleavage

What Is Homolytic Cleavage?

If the covalent bonds between two elements break in such a way that each of the elements gets its own electrons, it is called homolytic cleavage. That is, each element gets an electron. Homolytic cleavage results in the formation of free radicals.

Homolytic Cleavage of Covalent Bond

In the above figure, we have used an arrow to show the movement of electrons. Here, in this case, the arrow used is called the fish-hook arrow, as it signifies that there is a movement of only one electron.

What Is Heterolytic Cleavage?

If the covalent bonds between two elements break heterolytically, i.e., unequally, it results in the formation of charged species. This type of bond breaking, where the electrons are unevenly distributed, is called heterolytic cleavage.

Heterolytic Cleavage of Covalent Bond

In the above figure, we have used arrows to signify the movement of electrons, a regular arrow signifies that two electrons are being moved.

Reaction Intermediates in Organic Chemistry

Intermediates can be understood as the first product of a consecutive reaction. For example, in a chemical reaction, if A→B and B→C, then B can be said to be the intermediate for reaction A→C. The reactions in organic chemistry occur via the formation of these intermediates.