When exactly 1 mole of methane is mixed with exactly 1 mole of chlorine and light is shone on the mixture, a chlorination reaction occurs. The products are found to contain substantial amounts of di-, tri-, and tetra-chloromethane, as well as un-reacted methane.
(a) Explain how a mixture is formed from this stoichiometric mixture of reactants, and propose mechanisms for the formation of these compounds from chloromethane.
(b) How would you run this reaction to get a good conversion of methane to CH3Cl, Of methane to CCl4?