If chloroform is left open in the air in the presence of sunlight

Options

A. Explosion takes place
B. Polymerisation takes place
C. Poisonous gas phosgene is formed
D. No reaction takes place

Answer

To solve the question regarding the reaction of chloroform (CHCl3) when left open in the air in the presence of sunlight, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Reactants**:
- The reactant in this scenario is chloroform (CHCl3).
- The presence of air indicates the involvement of oxygen (O2).

2. **Understand the Conditions**:
- The reaction occurs in the presence of sunlight, which provides the energy necessary to initiate the reaction.

3. **Write the Reaction**:
- Chloroform reacts with oxygen in the presence of sunlight. The general reaction can be represented as:
\[ \text{CHCl}_3 + \text{O}_2 \xrightarrow{\text{sunlight}} \text{products} \]

4. **Mechanism of Reaction**:
- The reaction proceeds through a free radical mechanism. Sunlight causes the homolytic cleavage of the C-Cl bonds in chloroform, generating free radicals.
- The reaction can be broken down into the following steps:
- **Initiation**: The C-Cl bond breaks, forming a chloro free radical (CCl3•) and a hydrogen free radical (H•).
- **Propagation**: The chloro free radical can react with oxygen to form a peroxy radical (O•) and regenerate other radicals.
- **Termination**: Two free radicals can combine to form stable products.

5. **Products Formation**:
- The main products formed from this reaction are likely to be:
- Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
- Other chlorinated compounds or peroxides depending on the reaction conditions.

6. **Final Reaction Representation**:
- The overall reaction can be summarized as:
\[ 2 \text{CHCl}_3 + \text{O}_2 \xrightarrow{\text{sunlight}} 2 \text{HCl} + \text{CCl}_2\text{O} + \text{other products} \]

### Summary of the Reaction:
When chloroform is exposed to sunlight and air, it undergoes a free radical reaction with oxygen, leading to the formation of hydrochloric acid and other chlorinated compounds.

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