The precursor 2-chloro-6-fluorotoluene can produce the 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl radical in corona discharge, together with the 2-fluorobenzyl radical which could be generated by the displacement of Cl with H of methyl group. In order to identify the reaction mechanism, two precursors, 2-chloro-6-fluorotoluene and 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl chloride were employed to observe the vibronic emission spectra from the corona discharge with a large amount of inert carrier gas He. By comparing the spectra observed, we are able to propose the displacement mechanism of Cl, in which methyl group is believed to play an important role in the process, which is discussed in terms of bond dissociation energies. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.