Question

CCl4 cannot be hydrolysed but sicl4 can be hydrolysed

Answer 1

SiCl4 has a larger central atom than CCl4 , which makes more vulnerable to attack in hydrolysis.The differing rates of hydrolysis are attributed to the greater atomic radius of the silicon atom allowing attack at silicon, and to the polar nature of the Si-Cl bonds favoring nucleophilic attack.

CCl4 doesn't undergo hydrolysis because of the absence of vacant d-orbitals. But in SiCl4 silicon has vacant d-orbitals which can be used for hydrolysis. Hence SiCl4 can undergo hydrolysis.

SiCl4 can be easily hydrolysed by water because the central atom can accommodate the lone pair of electrons from the oxygen atom of water molecule in the d-orbital. ... On the other hand, carbon does not have vacant d-orbitals and hence cannot accept electron pair from H2O molecule and therefore CCl4is not hydrolyzed.