Question

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

• A. Frankland’s reaction
• B. Sandmeyer’s reaction
• C. Wurtz reaction
• D. Kolbe’s reaction

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

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