3.3.2.4 chlorination of alkanes

• initiation - the halogen is broken down

  
• propagation - a hydrogen is replaced with the Cl radial reformed as a catalyst

  
• termination - two radicals join to end the chain reaction and form a stable product

  
• what is a chain reaction?

  the propagation step continuing many times to result in multiple substitutions
• what can the condition of the reaction be altered to do?

  favour the termination step and limit the number of substitutions