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  4. An alkyl halide reacts with metallic sodium in dry ether. The reaction is known as :

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Q. An alkyl halide reacts with metallic sodium in dry ether. The reaction is known as :

Haloalkanes and Haloarenes

Solution:

Wurtz reaction : It involves the interaction of two molecules of an alkyl halide (preferably bromide or iodide) with metallic sodium in presence of dry ether to form symmetrical alkanes containing double the number of carbon atoms present in the alkyl halide. For example,
$\underset{\text{Alkyl halide}}{R - X} + 2Na + X - R \xrightarrow{\text{Dry ether}} \underset{\text{Alkane}}{R- R} + 2NaX$