What do you understand by: (i) Homolytic fission (ii) Heterolytic fission?
(i) Homolytic fission or Homolysis. If a covalent bond breaks in such a way that each atom takes away one electron of the shared pair, it is called hemolytic or symmetrical fission. Homolytic fission leads to the formation of highly reactive neutral species (A. and B.) containing odd or unpaired electrons which are known as free radicals. This type of fission usually occurs in non-polar bonds and is favoured by: (i) high temperature (ii) ultraviolet (UV) radiations and (iii) Heterolytic fission. If a covalent bond breaks in such a way that both the electrons of the covalent bond are taken away by one of the bonded atoms, it is called heterolytic or unsymmetrical fission.
Heterolytic fission leads to the formation of charged or ionic species, one having a positive charge called cation and other having a negative charge called anion. It usually occurs in polar covalent bonds and is favoured by polar solvents.
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