Abstract
During the homolytic reactions of $CCl_4$ or $Cl_3CBr with ${\beta}-halo^1$-styrenes,$\beta$-haloradicals are key intermediates. They are to be stabilized via three pathways; $\beta$-cleavage, halogen transfer and telomerization. The three reaction paths are delicately controlled by the energetics of their formation and stabilization. When the formation of a $\beta$-haloradical is accompanied by considerable excess of energy from an exothermic reaction, $\beta$ -cleavage is often dominant over the halogen transfer. On the other hand, if the radical forms via a reversible reaction, two processes become competitive. $\beta$-Eliminated bromine atoms from ${\beta}$ -bromoradicals generate $Br_2$ via $Cl_3CBr + {\cdot}Br {\leftrightarrow} Br_2 + {CCl_3}{\cdot}{Br_2}$ may act as a better scavenger than Cl3CBr for the ${\beta}$-bromoradicals. Different reactivities of chlorine, bromine and trichloromethyl radicals towards olefinic pi-bond are clarified in terms of the beat content of the addition reactions.