The fundamental concepts of organic reaction is based on the fission of covalent bonds. A covalent bond undergoes fission in two ways:
• Homolytic Fission – this is also referred to as homolytic fission where each of the atoms acquires one of the bonding electrons.
• Heterolytic Fission – When the bond is broken in such fission, one of the atoms acquire both of the bonding electrons.
The process of fission gives rise to reaction intermediaries that are short-lived fragments. Some of the important reaction intermediaries are carbanions, carbenes, carbonium ions, and carbon-free radicals.