Heterolytic cleavage:
i. In hetcrolytic cleavage of a covalent bond, both shared electrons go to one of the two bonded atoms.
ii. This type of cleavage gives rise to two charged species, one with negative charge (anion) and the other with positive charge (cation).
iii. The negatively charged species has the more electronegative atom which has taken away the shared pair of electrons with it.
iv. Heterolytic cleavage can be represented as follows:
Where B is more electronegative than A and the movement of an electron pair is represented by a curved arrow.
v. Thus, the unsymmetrical breaking of a covalent bond between two atoms in such a way that the more electronegative atom acquires both the electrons of the shared pair. thereby fòrming charged ions is known as heterolytic fission or heterolysis.
