The key difference between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride is that ethyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to an ethyl group, whereas allyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to a carbon atom that is adjacent to a double bond.
Ethyl chloride and allyl chloride are organic compounds which have chlorine atoms attached to an organic moiety. However, they are different from each other according to their chemical structures. Ethyl chloride is a saturated compound (no double or triple bonds present in the molecule), while allyl chloride is an unsaturated compound (contains a double bond).
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ethyl Chloride
3. What is Allyl Chloride
4. Side by Side Comparison – Ethyl Chloride vs Allyl Chloride in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Ethyl Chloride
Ethyl chloride is an organic compound having the chemical formula C2H5Cl. It is also known as chloroethane. Furthermore, this compound is a saturated organic compound. That means; there are no double or triple bonds in this compound; only single bonds can be found. Also, at room temperature and pressure, ethyl chloride occurs as a colourless gas. This gas has a pungent and ethereal odour.
Ethyl chloride can be produced via hydrochlorination of ethylene. The chemical reaction for this conversion is as follows:
C2H4+HCl⟶ C2H5Cl
There are several uses of ethyl chloride. It was used widely for the production of a gasoline additive – tetraethyllead. However, due to the toxic effects of lead, this additive is not produced at present. In addition to that, ethyl chloride is important as an ethylating agent, as a refrigerant, as an aerosol spray propellant, an anaesthetic, a blowing agent, etc.
Figure o1: Chemical Structure of Ethyl Chloride
What is Allyl Chloride?
Allyl chloride is an organic compound having the chemical formula CH2-CH-CH2Cl. Allyl chloride is an organic compound containing its chlorine atom bonded to the carbon atom that is adjacent to the double bond in the molecule. That means; the allyl chlorides are alkenes containing a chlorine atom. The chlorine atom is bound to the carbon atom that is nearest to the double bond of the alkene. Although carbon atoms having the double bond are sp2 hybridized, the carbon atom bearing the chlorine atom is sp3 hybridized.
Figure 02: Chemical Structure of Allyl Chloride
Furthermore, this carbon atom bonds with the double-bonded carbon atom through a single bond. Therefore, the electron density around this carbon atom is lower than that of the carbon atoms in the double bond. If a molecule contains two double bonds, then the allylic carbon that bears the chlorine atom can act as a bridge for two double bonds.
What is the Difference Between Ethyl Chloride and Allyl Chloride?
The key difference between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride is that ethyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to an ethyl group whereas allyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to a carbon atom that is adjacent to a double bond. Moreover, another difference between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride is that ethyl chloride is a saturated compound (no double or triple bonds present in the molecule), while allyl chloride is an unsaturated compound (contains a double bond).
Below infographic tabulates more differences between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride.
Summary – Ethyl Chloride vs Allyl Chloride
Both ethyl chloride and allyl chloride are organic compounds containing chlorine atoms attached to an organic moiety. The key difference between ethyl chloride and allyl chloride is that ethyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to an ethyl group, whereas allyl chloride contains a chlorine atom attached to a carbon atom that is adjacent to a double bond.
Reference:
1. Bodapati, Kumar. “Ethyl Chloride.” LinkedIn SlideShare, 13 Mar. 2014, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Chloroethane-skeletal” By Maciejo93 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Allyl chloride” By Cwbm (commons) – standard textbook (Public Domain) via Commmons Wikimedia