The reactions in organic chemistry occur by the breaking and making of bonds. Bonds can cleave in either of two ways:
- Homolytic Cleavage
- Heterolytic cleavage
What is Homolytic Cleavage?
If the covalent bonds between two elements break in such a way that each of the elements get their own electrons, it is called homolytic cleavage. That is, each element gets an electron. Homolytic cleavage results in the formation of free radicals.
Homolytic Cleavage of Covalent Bond
In the above figure, we have used an arrow to show the movement of electrons. Here, in this case, the arrow used is called the fish-hook arrow as it signifies that there is a movement of only one electron.