Oxides and Oxoacids of Chlorine

In addition, chlorine derivatives are important as intermediates in the chemical industry, and there are numerous chlorine-containing pharmaceuticals for which no substitutes are presently available. Furthermore, organochlorine compounds, some very toxic, do occur naturally on a large scale. Clearly, however, we must endeavor to avoid adding unnecessarily to the natural load of toxins as the old adage goes, it is the dose that makes the poison. Certainly, problems exist that require an intelligent and chemically informed resolution, but the total ban advocated by some on the use of chlorine and chlorinated compounds is neither necessary nor acceptable. 

Chlorine, when dissolved in water, undergoes rapid disproportionation (i.e., it oxidizes and reduces itself simultaneously) to hypochlorous acid and hydrochloric acid, with an equilibrium constant of 5 x 10 moP L  

Hypochlorous acid is a weak acid (pK a = log = 7.4) and decomposes slowly to give oxygen, even in dilute solution. It cannot be isolated in the free state. 

Since hypochlorous acid is a powerful disinfectant, chlorine is widely used to render municipal water safe for drinking. 

If chlorine is dissolved in cold, dilute aqueous NaOH, kinetically stable solutions of the hypochlorite ion are obtained  

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Structure and bonding in oxides and oxoacids of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorine... 

The interhalogens have properties intermediate between those of the constituent halogens. Nonmetals form covalent halides metals tend to form ionic halides. The oxoacids of chlorine are all oxidizing agents both acidity and oxidizing strength of oxoacids increase as the oxidation number of the halogen increases. 

C 5 Sc, Y, La to Lu Oxide Chlorides, Hydroxide Chlorides, Salts of Oxoacids of Chlorine, and Alkali Chlorometallates - 1977... 

If more than two oxidation numbers are involved, the prefixes per- and hypo- are used as well per- denotes the highest oxidation number, and hypo- the lowest oxidation number. Thus, the oxoacids of chlorine are shown in Table 11.5. 

Bismuth commonly forms cations of + 3 charge. It forms the basic oxide Bi20j and salts of oxoacids such as Bi2(S04)3 and Bi(N03)3- Reaction of the metal with hahdes such as fluorine and chlorine results in a salt with the formula of BiXj. Because of the size of the metal atom, the linkages are more ionic than those found for other group members. 

The acid strengths and oxidizing abilities of the halogen oxoacids increase with the oxidation number of the halogen. The hypohalous acids, HXO (halogen oxidation number +1), are prepared by direct reaction of the halogen with water. For example, chlorine gas disproportionates in water to produce hypochlorous acid and hydrochloric acid ... 

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