Bond fission
Homolytic & Heterolytic fission
- Homolytic fission is breaking a covalent bond in such a way that each atom takes an electron from the bond to form two radicals
- A radical is a reactive chemical species with an unpaired electron
- Heterolytic fission is breaking a covalent bond in such a way that the more electronegative atom takes both the electrons from the bond to form a negative ion and leaving behind a positive ion
The diagram shows heterolytic fission in which the most electronegative atom takes both electrons in the covalent bond and homolytic fission in which each atom takes one electron from the covalent bond