kemikallyimbalanced
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Bromine
Is bromine really that hard to work with? Will a ton of fumes come shooting out right after I open the container? Should I put it in the freezer? Any
tips on handling bromine properly will be nice. Thanks.
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evil_lurker
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You know what, I have found that bromine is pretty easy to work with.
Long as its at room temp or below, when you go to open the bottle it will hiss a little bit (like an unshook soda) and will fume off just a little
bit, and moreso when pouring.
Teflon lined caps are great and will hold your bromine for a long time... freezing isn't necessary but it doesn't hurt either.
Just do not get it on your skin, and have plenty of ventilation when your working with it and you should be OK.
Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in
beer.
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Waffles
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the main obstacle and difficulty with working with bromine is having a sound method of storage. if you wear gloves, are educated about its reactivity,
and work with ventilation, bromine isn't anything to get worked up about.
\"…\'tis man\'s perdition to be safe, when for the truth he ought to die.\"
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The_Davster
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Yup, thats about it, work with it cool, and you should have no issues, especially in small ammounts, with good ventilation.
I keep 5mL or so of it in a glass stoppered flask outside. Enough leaks at -20 to stink up the freezer.
[Edited on 11-6-2007 by The_Davster]
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Nerro
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It doensn't take much Br2 to stink up a freezer though.
The most redeeming feature of Br2 is that it will evaporate quickly and completely when you're working with it. So you won't generally have to worry
about little droplets of it staying behind and getting on your skin later. That being said, do worry about getting it on your skin! Few things suck
more than a chemical burn caused by exposure to liquid bromine. I've heard the wounds can take weeks or even months to heal...
#261501 +(11351)- [X]
the \"bishop\" came to our church today
he was a fucken impostor
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courtesy of bash
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PainKilla
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I've had bromine sitting away in a freezer for a 6 months or so, under an equivalent amount of concentrated sulfuric. Works rather well for prolonged
storage, and the sulfuric also keeps it dry.
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woelen
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Isn't this very irritating, if you want to take out some of the bromine? You first need to let is warm up, so that it melts, en then taking out the
Br2, with H2SO4 sticking to it, isn't that a real pain?
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PainKilla
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Once the bromine melts, there is still no vapor coming out of the container as it's still under the sulfuric, and thus it's quite easy to pipette
out... it's high density also ensures you don't add H2SO4 to whatever destination you are adding it to.
Anyway, I'd rather have that small wait than deal with the fumes, which otherwise smell less than appealing.
Edit - From Vogel (3 ed. : 189):
"Bromine. The commercial product may be dried (and partially purified) by shaking with an equal volume of concentrated sulphuric acid, and then
separating the acid. Chlorine, if present, may be removed by fractionation in an all-glass apparatus from pure potassium bromide : the b.p. is
59°/760 mm. The analytical reagent grade is satisfactory for most purposes where pure bromine is required."
[Edited on 12-6-2007 by PainKilla]
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Jdurg
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The biggest problem with with bromine is indeed the storage. It WILL eventually find a way to leak out of virtually all containers. I had it in an
amber glass bottle with a pure Teflon cap and it still leaked out. I had it in a sealed glass ampoule and although it took about 1 year, it started
to leach out of the thin glass and eat away at the glass. Finally, I sealed it in a glass ampoule with some thicker glass, then sealed it in an
acrylic cast resin block and it has not leaked out at all.
When you store bromine, it is a good idea to put in an amber glass vial with a teflon lid. Then wrap the outside of the bottle where the lid meets
the vial with teflon tape. Take the wrapped vial and put it in a large steel can with vermiculite. Press the top of the lid of the can down tight.
The Br2 will still leach out and etch away at the can and stink up the local area, but that's the best way to keep it long term in a way you can still
use it.
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requires wiping afterwards.\"
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kemikallyimbalanced
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Wow, thanks for all the info. I really appreciate that  I will definitely just
order enough for my reaction as storing it around here could cause problems.
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woelen
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You simply can order bromine? As a private person?
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Fleaker
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Or store it with sodium thiosulfate. Whenever bromine arrives, it's usually accompanied with thiosulfate to make it safer to ship.
BTW, Acros has a good deal on bromine, 1L (3.1kg) for ~$88
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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evil_lurker
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Jdurg
The biggest problem with with bromine is indeed the storage. It WILL eventually find a way to leak out of virtually all containers. I had it in an
amber glass bottle with a pure Teflon cap and it still leaked out. I had it in a sealed glass ampoule and although it took about 1 year, it started
to leach out of the thin glass and eat away at the glass. Finally, I sealed it in a glass ampoule with some thicker glass, then sealed it in an
acrylic cast resin block and it has not leaked out at all.
When you store bromine, it is a good idea to put in an amber glass vial with a teflon lid. Then wrap the outside of the bottle where the lid meets
the vial with teflon tape. Take the wrapped vial and put it in a large steel can with vermiculite. Press the top of the lid of the can down tight.
The Br2 will still leach out and etch away at the can and stink up the local area, but that's the best way to keep it long term in a way you can still
use it. |
Bah... thats way overkill.
Get a freaking Qorpak PVC coated amber glass bottle with foam backed PTFE liners and phenolithic caps.
Cynmar sells them... 1L's are around $7 each.
It won't go anywhere, or at least not very much of it at a time (not enough to matter IMO).
Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in
beer.
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YT2095
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I keep my long term Br2 in sealed glass ampuoles, and my ready to use in a glass vial with a PTFE cap that came from an IVF clinic, and that`s then
sunk in a jar of water in the fridge.
I keep a mixture of KBr and KBrO3 in a jar for a "Just add water" Instant-Bromine generator too, except you add an acid instead of water, it`s a nice
way to keep it and lasts forever 
\"In a world full of wonders mankind has managed to invent boredom\" - Death
Twinkies don\'t have a shelf life. They have a half-life! -Caine (a friend of mine)
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woelen
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I don't store bromine (except some in sealed ampoules as collection item). If I want some experiments with bromine, I make some (I now have plenty of
KBrO3 and KBr) and pipette it from the liquid and if needed, I dry it with some H2SO4.
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Nick F
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If you're making your own bromine, rather than buying it, then I would suggest that its ease of manufacture makes the problem of storing bromine
irrelevant - just make it as needed. That being said, I have stored bromine, and a flask with a ground glass stopper (with a little grease) in the
freezer seems in my experience to be fine, certainly up to a few years.
But my main reason for replying to this thread is to ask a question - does anyone have a good source for K/NaBrO3? I've heard that it is possible to
buy it cheaply as a flour bleach, or something similar, but I haven't been able to. I got some off ebay, but it would be nice to have a more reliable
source, without paying chem supplier prices. Perhaps someone could PM me if they have a cheap source or a large excess that they don't need..?
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Phosphor-ing
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I know you can get KBr/NaBr at pool/spa suppliers. But as for the Bromate I'm not sure.
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woelen
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I make my own bromate. That works very well and is in fact much easier than making chlorate, because bromate does not bubble out of solution in an
electrolysis cell:
http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/exps/KBrO3_synth/i...
Try to find a platinum anode for best results. The eBay seller uGems sells platinum wire at good prices (appr. $5 per inch of 0.3 mm wire). With such
wire, a decent power supply and a week of patience you can make yourself a lot of potassium bromate. I made a few tens of grams in one evening. It
really is easy. Use KBr as your starting chemical. KBr is easy to find and with KBr, the crystals of KBrO3 simply settle at the bottom.
Unfortunately, for home chemists, there is no reliable source of bromates. Sources come and sources go.
One source for NaBrO3 is the following: http://www.crystalgrowing.com/index_d.htm
At the left click on 'chemikalien'. I'm not sure how long this source will last. It is changing frequently and chems come and go all the time. A few
months ago thay also had K2Cr2O7 and now that has gone, but in exchange, the NaBrO3 appeared on their site. So grab it while you can  .
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Sauron
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If you just cool the bottle down in an ice bath prior to opening it, the red vapor over the liquid Br2 will disappear (condense) and you can handle
the transfer quite easily. I'd still use a hood, and wear gloves and goggles. A large syringe (I have as 100 ml Hamilton for this purpose) is a very
convenient way to transger up to 300 g Br2 at a time.
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