plz frenz....

answer the ques for me

 2R-X + 2Na → R-R + 2Na⁺X⁻

 This reaction involves the radical species R•.

One electron from sodium is transferred to the halogen to produce a sodium halide and an alkyl radical.

R-X + Na → R• + Na⁺X⁻

The alkyl radical then accepts an electron from another sodium atom to form an alkyl anion and the sodium becomes cationic.

R• + Na → R⁻Na⁺

The alkyl anion then displaces the halide in an S_N2 reaction, forming a new carbon-carbon covalent bond.

R⁻Na⁺ + R-X → R-R + Na⁺X⁻

Here methyl iodide and ethyl chloride are reacted with powdered sodium metal in anhydrous ether. Alkanes containing double the number of carbon atoms are formed, i.e. methyl iodide gives ethane, and ethyl chloride gives n-butane.

The solvent, ether in this case, must be anhydrous (free of moisture) because the alkyl anions are so basic (the pKa of the alkyl proton is 48–50) that they readily deprotonate water to hydroxide ion, forming alkanes, and reducing the yield of the desired product

 what catalysts are used in this rxn????

this rxn needs a lot of activation energy... 

 i have read about it in lots of books but cant find any catalyst rather than the use of anhydrous ether  but thats a solvent to provide non polar medium

But Tetrahydrofuran can be used as alternative solvent and is the only option when dealing with alkyl and aryl fluorides, aryl chlorides. In these cases dry ether is not fruitful.

In this reaction no catalyst is used. The energy of activation is compensated by the reactions that follow. Like the formation of Na+X-

Ref: http:www.adichemadi.com

hiiii

Wurtz Reaction

The Wurtz Coupling is one of the oldest organic reactions, and produces the simple dimer derived from two equivalents of alkyl halide. The intramolecular version of the reaction has also found application in the preparation of strained ring compounds:

Using two different alkyl halides will lead to an approximately statistical mixture of products. A more selective unsymmetric modification is possible if starting materials have different rates of reactivity

Mechanism of the Wurtz Reaction

Side products:

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