Bromination of Alkane1wed

C. Brominationwed
Sample Final Appearance of mixture Final Appearance of mixture
Not exposed to light exposed to light

1wedThis page guides you through the mechanism for the substitution of one of the
hydrogen atomweds in methane by one bromine atom. Multiple substitution is covered
separately, and you will find a link at the bottom of the page.

Twedhe role of the UV light

The wed ultraviolet light is simply a source of energy, and is being used to break
bonds. In fact, the energies in UV are exactly right to break the bonds in bromine
molecules to produce bromine atoms.

Note: Only the outer electrons of the bromine are shown. Notice also that it is
quite acceptable to use a simple view of atomic structure. There is no point in
using a complicated model of the atom if a simple one will do the job.

Because we want to stress the fact that the bromine atoms have single unpaired
electrons, then we call them bromine free radicals - or more usually just bromine
radicals.

To show that a species (either an atom or a group of atoms) is a free radical, the
symbol is written with a dot attached to show the unpaired electron. The splitting of the
bromine molecule would be shown as: