Interhalogen

An interhalogen compound is a molecule which contains two or more different halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or sometimes even astatine) and no atoms of elements from any other group. Interhalogens are very reactive.

Interhalogen compounds

Interhalogens are generally compound from two different halogen species. The following table displays all confirmed combinations:

Halogen	F	Cl	Br	I	At
F	F2
Cl	ClF, ClF3, ClF5	Cl2
Br	BrF, BrF3, BrF5	BrCl	Br2
I	IF, IF3, IF5, IF7	ICl, (ICl3)2	IBr	I2
At	AtF (?)	AtCl	AtBr	AtI	At2 (?)

Properties

Interhalogens are extremely reactive chemical species. All react violently with water and may even explode.

Interhalogen compounds have different states of matter, depending on their formula:

• Gaseous: ClF, BrF (b.p. 20 °C), BrCl, ClF₃ (b.p. 11.75 °C), ClF₅, IF₇
• Liquid: BrF₃, BrF₅, IF₅
• Solid: IF, ICl, IBr, IF₃, ICl₃

So far, there is no data on the states of astatine compounds.

Safety

Interhalogens are extremely corrosive and fluorine interhalogens can also react with glass.

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads

• Interhalogens