What is the Difference Between Ethyl Chloride and Allyl Chloride?

The key difference between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride lies in the structure and reactivity of the two compounds.

Ethyl chloride:

• Contains a chlorine atom attached to an ethyl group.
• It is a 1° halide, meaning it reacts relatively slowly in nucleophilic substitution reactions.
• Ethyl chloride is a gas at room temperature, and alkyl halides are relatively nonpolar.

Allyl chloride:

• Contains a chlorine atom attached to an allyl group.
• It is an allylic halide, which means it reacts much faster than ethyl chloride in nucleophilic substitution reactions.
• Allyl chloride is a colorless, chlorinated hydrocarbon that is liquid at room temperature, volatile, and flammable.

In a nucleophilic substitution reaction, the ability of the chlorine atom to depart in allyl chloride is better than that in ethyl chloride. This difference in reactivity can be attributed to the stability of the carbocation formed during the reaction. Allyl chloride forms a more stable carbocation compared to ethyl chloride, making it more likely to undergo nucleophilic substitution reactions.

Comparative Table: Ethyl Chloride vs Allyl Chloride

Here is a table comparing the differences between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride:

Key differences:

• Ethyl chloride is a saturated compound, while allyl chloride is an unsaturated compound containing a double bond.
• Ethyl chloride has a molecular structure with only single bonds, whereas allyl chloride has a double bond.
• Allyl chloride has a lower boiling point and flash point than ethyl chloride.
• Allyl chloride is denser than ethyl chloride.

Please note that the boiling point, flash point, and density are specific to allyl chloride, as this information is not available for ethyl chloride in the search results.