Chloromethane- Methyl Chloride

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Chloromethane, more commonly referred to as methyl chloride, is an organic compound categorized as a haloalkane functional group. Functional groups are atoms that control how the molecule will react with other molecues. Haloalkane functional groups consist of a carbon atom with four single bonds and one of the bonds in occupied by an element in the Halogen family; in this case chlorine. The structural formula is CH3Cl. This formula effects some of the physical properties which include the boiling point to be -22.22°C and the melting point to be -97.7°C. Other physical properties consist of a faint sweet smell, colorless gas, and it is soluble in water.
One type of reaction that produces chloromethane is a photochemical reaction. Photochemical reactions occur because light shines down upon the reaction and provides the heat and energy required to start the reaction. When the light comes into contact with diatomic chlorine, the reactions begins; Cl2 → 2Cl●. A free radical reaction follows. Free radical reactions are reactions that involve free radicals. Free radicals are singular atoms or molecules that have one unbonded electron, which is denoted with a ●, or dot, next to the element or molecule. The second step commences when one of the original radical chlorine atoms combines with methane to create a radical methyl group and hydrochloric acid; CH4 + Cl● → CH3● + H Cl. The radical methyl group then becomes an intermediate when it becomes a product along with diatomic chlorine to finally produce chloromethane and a radical chlorine;CH3● + Cl2 → CH3Cl + Cl●. Methylation takes place during this third step in the photochemical process also. Methylation is the addition or subtraction, in this case addition, of a methyl group into a re...

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