3.3.3

Chlorine & Chlorate(I)

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Reactions of Chlorine

Chlorine reacts with water in different ways depending on the conditions. The different products have some practical uses.

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With water

  • The equation for this reaction is:
    • Cl2(g) + H2O(l) ⇌ HCl(aq) + HClO(aq) ⇌ 2H+(aq) + ClO(aq) + Cl(aq)
  • This reaction is used in water treatment to kill bacteria.
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With water and in sunlight

  • The same reaction happens with water. But in sunlight, a further reaction can happen.
  • In sunlight, the chlorate(I) ion produced will decompose to produce hydrochloric acid and oxygen. The equation for this reaction is:
    • 2HClO(aq) ⇌ 2HCl(aq) + O2(g)
  • So the overall equation can be written as:
    • 2Cl2(g) + 2H2O(l) ⇌ 4HCl(aq) + O2(g)

Practical Uses of Chlorine

The reactions of water and chlorine have some practical uses.

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Water treatment

  • Chlorine is added to the water supply to try to make it safe to drink.
  • But the treatment has risks:
    • Chlorine gas is toxic.
    • Liquid chlorine on the skin or eyes causes burns.
    • Water contains trace organic compounds. Chorine will chlorinate hydrocarbons and many of these chlorinated hydrocarbons are carcinogenic.
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Benefits of water treatment

  • Water treatment kills harmful bacteria.
  • The increased cancer risk is small, but a cholera epidemic would kill thousands.
  • Some people complain about this forced mass medication, but this prevents thousands of deaths every year and on balance is good for society.
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Making bleach

  • When Cl2 is added to sodium hydroxide, you get sodium chlorate(I) and sodium chloride.
    • This is an example of a disproportionation reaction.
    • This means chlorine is both oxidised and reduced at the same time.
  • Cl2 has oxidation state 0, Cl- has oxidation state -1 and chlorate(I) has oxidation state +1.

Jump to other topics

1Physical Chemistry

2Physical Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

3Inorganic Chemistry

4Inorganic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

5Organic Chemistry 1

6Organic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

6.1Optical Isomerism (A2 Only)

6.2Aldehydes & Ketones (A2 Only)

6.3Carboxylic Acids & Esters (A2 Only)

6.4Aromatic Chemistry (A2 Only)

6.5Amines (A2 Only)

6.6Polymers (A2 Only)

6.7Biological Organic (A2 Only)

6.8Organic Synthesis (A2 Only)

6.9NMR Spectroscopy (A2 Only)

6.10Chromatography (A2 Only)

6.11A-A* (AO3/4) - Organic 2

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