Why doesn't tetrachloromethane react with aqueous sodium hydroxide under reflux?

$\ce{CCl4}$ does not react with hydroxide nucleophile whereas $\ce{CH3Cl}$ does.


I had initially thought that it was due to symmetrical geometry of $\ce{CCl4}$ and so the dipoles cancel out and the molecule is non-polar, which means there is no partially positively charged carbon atom in $\ce{CCl4}$, and so there is nothing for the hydroxide ion to attack (I figured inducing a dipole on one of the $\ce{C-Cl}$ bonds by the hydroxide ion upon collision would not be possible and out of the question due to the large difference in electronegativity between the $\ce{C}$ and $\ce{Cl}$ atom, so any possible partial positive charge on $\ce{Cl}$ atom would go away almost instantly) but then I saw the mark scheme to this question and it said that it was to do with the large size of the $\ce{Cl}$ atom - preventing the hydroxide ion from colliding with the carbon atom. Ehich makes sense I guess, but does the argument I made answer this question in any way? (I also have a feeling I may have a misconception on whether a partial charge exists on any of the atoms for a non-polar molecule, so please do clear that up if that error is included in my statement).




In chloroform, there are three electron withdrawing groups ($\ce{Cl}$) which are able to *stabilize* a negative charge. Thus, the first step is the deprotonation of chloroform, typically with concentrated lye:


$$ \ce{CHCl3 + NaOH <=>[H2O] CCl^-\_3 + H2O} $$


The second step is the loss of $\ce{Cl^-}$ to yield $\ce{NaCl}$ and dichlorocarben, $\ce{^{..}CCl2}$. This may be dangerous if performed neatly (one reason you don't dry dichloromethane over sodium). Under conditions of [phase transfer catalysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-transfer_catalyst) ($\ce{NaCl}$ enters the aqueous phase, the carbene remains in the organic phase), it however may be tamed to be a useful procedure to install cyclopropyl groups:


[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/879jp.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/879jp.png)


An other base capable to deprotonate $\ce{CHCl3}$ is e.g., $\ce{KO^tBu}$ at $\pu{-30 ^\circ{}C}$ in diethyl ether ([procedure in *Org. Syn.*](http://orgsyn.org/demo.aspx?prep=CV6P0731)).


This approach however has been superseded e.g., by the Simmons-Smith reaction (second line), attaching the cyclopropyl ring in one step with less safety concern, less drastic reaction conditions, and thus, wider scope of application.


Carbon tetrachloride, on the other hand, does not possess a proton $\ce{NaOH}$ could abstract.


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