Limitations
The Wurtz reaction is limited to the synthesis of symmetric alkanes. If two dissimilar alkyl halides are taken as reactants, then the product is a mixture of alkanes that is often difficult to separate as the difference in the boiling points of the products is very low in these cases, making distillation unusable. Also, since the reaction involves free radical species, a side reaction occurs to produce an alkene. This side-reaction becomes more significant when the alkyl halides are bulky at the halogen-attached carbon. This is because the activation energy required for the SN2 reaction in the second step becomes significantly high, so the alternate elimination mechanism is favored.
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