C-H bond homolytic cleavage?

Question

Can someone explain why C-H bond would undergo homolytic cleavage and not heterolytic? I thought it would be heterolytic as Carbon and hydrogen are obviously not of the same species.

Answer 1

I am not an organic chemist, but I would like to suggest an explanation. According to a google search, homolytic cleavage results in two free radicals, whereas, heterolytic cleavage results in ions.

As carbon and hydrogen have very similar electronegativities, neither atom has the tendency to "capture" the other atoms electron during bond cleavage. Maybe some other tutors can weigh in on this.