Question

How is acetylene converted to (i) Westron (ii) Vinyl chloride.

Answer 1

1,1,2,2- tetrachloroethane is called westron and it can be prepared from acetylene. Westron and vinyl chloride are prepared from acetylene through addition reaction of acetylene with Chlorine and hydrochloric acid.

Complete Solution :
- In the question it is given how we can prepare Westron and Vinyl chloride from acetylene.
Preparation of Westron from Acetylene:
- The preparation of westron from acetylene is a two-step process.
Step-1:
- In the first step Acetylene reacts with chlorine and forms 1,2 – dichloroethene as the product and chemical reaction of acetylene with chlorine is as follows.

- In the above chemical reaction one mole of acetylene reacts with one mole chlorine and forms one mole of 1,2- dichloroethene as the product.
Step-2:
- In the second step the product formed in the first step is going to react with chlorine and forms Westron (1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane) as the product.
- The chemical reaction of 1,2- dichloroethene with chlorine is as follows.

Preparation of vinyl chloride from Acetylene:
- Acetylene reacts with hydrochloric acid and forms vinyl chloride as the product.
- The chemical reaction of acetylene with hydrochloric acid is as follows.

Note: The preparation of westron or vinyl chloride is going to occur through nucleophilic addition reaction. Vinyl chloride further undergoes polymerization reaction and forms polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as the product. PVC has vast applications in various fields. So, acetylene is used in various industries for various purposes.