Will CCl₄ give white precipitate of AgCl on heating it with silver nitrate? Give reason for your answer.
No, CCl₄ will not give a white precipitate of AgCl on heating it with silver nitrate.
In CCl₄, the chlorine atoms are covalently bonded to the carbon atom. Silver nitrate reacts with ionic halide ions () to form a precipitate of silver halide (). Since CCl₄ does not contain ionic chloride ions, it will not react with silver nitrate to form a white precipitate of AgCl. To test for the presence of chlorine, the covalent C-Cl bonds must first be broken by fusing the compound with metallic sodium (Lassaigne’s test) or by heating with fuming nitric acid (Carius method) to convert the covalent chlorine into ionic form.
Explanation
The question tests the understanding of covalent versus ionic bonds in organic compounds and the principle behind the test for halogens. The textbook context explains that halogens in organic compounds are covalently bonded, which is why they must be converted to ionic form either by fusion with metallic sodium (Lassaigne's test) or by heating with fuming nitric acid (Carius method) before they can react with silver nitrate to form silver halide precipitates.