Skip to content
qorganica.es qorganica.comOrganic Chemistry made transparent Course map Español

Bond Properties

C-halogen (C-X) bond strength decreases when going down the Periodic Table within the halogen group. Bond polarity also decreases, but to a much lesser extent.

Halomethane table: bond length, dipole moment and C–X bond strength (CH₃F 110, CH₃Cl 85, CH₃Br 71, CH₃I 57 kcal/mol)

The C-X bond is strongly polarized and, because of that, the carbon bonded to the halogen in a haloalkane is an important point of reactivity: it will be attacked by nucleophiles.

The carbon bonded to the halogen is electrophilic, electron deficient, and is attacked by nucleophiles