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Which end of a carbon-halogen bond has a partial positive charge?
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organohalogen compound
Vinyl chloride is an organohalogen compound that has important industrial applications. When treated with certain catalysts, vinyl chloride monomers undergo polymerization and form the larger compound known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is used in the manufacture of numerous products, including packaging films and water pipes.
In an organohalogen compound, the carbon atom is the end of the carbon-halogen bond that carries a partial positive charge.12
This partial positive charge arises because the halogen atom is more electronegative than the carbon atom. Consequently, the halogen atom draws the shared pair of bonding electrons toward itself, acquiring a partial negative charge, while the carbon atom loses its equal share of the electron pair and acquires a partial positive charge. This polarity in the carbon-halogen bond is the primary source of the chemical reactivity characteristic of halides.3412