Haloalkanes tend to dissolve in organic solvents because the new intermolecular attractions between haloalkanes and solvent molecules have similar strength to the attractions being broken in separate haloalkane and solvent molecules, leading to higher solubility in organic solvents.

Alkyl bromides are prepared by constant boiling with HBr (48%). This method ensures the synthesis of alkyl bromides in good yields by maintaining a consistent concentration of hydrobromic acid throughout the reaction.

The reactions of primary and secondary alcohols with HCl require the presence of the catalyst ZnCl₂. The catalyst aids in the conversion of alcohols into alkyl halides in the presence of hydrochloric acid.

Thionyl chloride is preferred because it forms alkyl halides along with escapable gases SO₂ and HCl, ensuring the production of pure alkyl halides. The gaseous products can be easily removed.

In the common system, dihalogen derivatives use prefixes o-, m-, p-, while in the IUPAC system, numerals 1,2; 1,3; and 1,4 are used to denote the positions of halogen atoms in the benzene ring.