Halogen

Z Element No. of electrons/shell

9 fluorine 2, 7
17 chlorine 2, 8, 7
35 bromine 2, 8, 18, 7
53 iodine 2, 8, 18, 18, 7
85 astatine 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 7
117 ununseptium 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 7 (?)
Group → 7
↓ Period
29F
3 17 Cl
4 35 Br
5 53 I
6 85 At
7 117 Uus
Legend
• Halogen
• Gas
• Liquid
• Primordial element
• From decay
• Synthetic
The halogens or halogen elements are a
series of nonmetal elements from Group 17
IUPAC Style (formerly: VII, VIIA) of the periodic
table, comprising fluorine, (F); chlorine,
(Cl); bromine, (Br); iodine, (I); and astatine,
(At). The undiscovered element 117, temporarily
named ununseptium, may also be a
halogen.
The group of halogens is the only group
which contains elements in all three familiar
states of matter at standard temperature and
pressure.
Abundance
Owing to their high reactivity, the halogens
are found in the environment only in compounds
or as ions. Halide ions and oxoanions
such as iodate (IO3−) can be found in many
minerals and in seawater. Halogenated organic
compounds can also be found as natural
products in living organisms. In their elemental
forms, the halogens exist as diatomic
molecules, but these only have a fleeting existence
in nature and are much more common
in the laboratory and in industry. At
room temperature and pressure, fluorine and
chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid and
iodine and astatine are solids; Group 7A is
therefore the only periodic table group exhibiting
all three. states of matter at room
temperature.
Etymology
The term ’halogen’ originates from 18th century
scientific French nomenclature based on
adaptations of Greek roots: hals (sea) or
halas (salt), and gen- (to generate)—referring
to elements which produce a salt in union
with a metal.
Properties
Like other groups, the members of this family
show patterns in its electron configuration,
especially the outermost shells resulting in
trends in chemical behavior:
The halogens show a number of trends when
moving down the group—for instance, decreasing
electronegativity and reactivity, and
increasing melting and boiling point.
halogen molecule structure model d(X−X) /
pm
(gas phase)
d(X−X) / pm
(solid phase)
fluorine F2 143 149
chlorine Cl2 199 198
bromine Br2 228 227
iodine I2 266 272
Diatomic halogen
molecules
Chemistry
Reactivity
Halogens are highly reactive, and as such
can be harmful or lethal to biological organisms
in sufficient quantities. This high reactivity
is due to the atoms being one electron
short of a full outer shell of eight electrons.
They can gain this electron by reacting with
atoms of other elements. Fluorine is one of
the most reactive elements in existence, attacking
otherwise inert materials such as
glass, and forming compounds with the heavier
noble gases. It is a corrosive and highly
toxic gas. The reactivity of fluorine is such
that if used or stored in laboratory glassware,
it can react with glass in the presence of
small amounts of water to form silicon tetrafluoride
(SiF4). Thus fluorine must be
handled with substances such as Teflon
(which is itself made of fluorine), extremely
dry glass, or metals such as copper or steel
which form a protective layer of fluoride on
their surface.
The high reactivity of fluorine means that
once it does react with something, it bonds
with it so strongly that the resulting molecule
is very inert and non-reactive to anything
else. For example, Teflon is fluorine bonded
with carbon.
Both chlorine and bromine are used as
disinfectants for drinking water, swimming
pools, fresh wounds, spas, dishes, and surfaces.
They kill bacteria and other potentially
harmful microorganisms through a process
known as sterilization. Their reactivity is also
put to use in bleaching. Sodium hypochlorite,
which is produced from chlorine, is the active
ingredient of most fabric bleaches and
chlorine-derived bleaches are used in the
production of some paper products.
 Hydrogen halides
The halogens all form binary compounds with
hydrogen known as the hydrogen halides
(HF, HCl, HBr, HI, and HAt), a series of particularly
strong acids. When in aqueous solution,
the hydrogen halides are known as hydrohalic
acids. HAt, or "hydrastatic acid",
should also qualify, but it is not typically included
in discussions of hydrohalic acid due
to astatine’s extreme instability toward alpha
decay.

Interhalogen compounds
The halogens react with each other to form
interhalogen compounds. Diatomic interhalogen
compounds such as BrF, ICl, and ClF
bear resemblance to the pure halogens in
some respects. The properties and behaviour
of a diatomic interhalogen compound tend to
be intermediate between those of its parent
halogens. Some properties, however, are
found in neither parent halogen. For example,
Cl2 and I2 are soluble in CCl4, but ICl
is not since it is a polar molecule due to the
relatively large electronegativity difference
between I and Cl.
 Organohalogen
compounds
Many synthetic organic compounds such as
plastic polymers, and a few natural ones, contain
halogen atoms; these are known as halogenated
compounds or organic halides.
Chlorine is by far the most abundant of the
halogens, and the only one needed in relatively
large amounts (as chloride ions) by humans.
For example, chloride ions play a key
role in brain function by mediating the action
of the inhibitory transmitter GABA and are
also used by the body to produce stomach
acid. Iodine is needed in trace amounts for
the production of thyroid hormones such as
thyroxine. On the other hand, neither fluorine
nor bromine are believed to be essential for
humans, although small amounts of fluoride
can make tooth enamel resistant to decay.
Polyhalogenated
compounds
Polyhalogenated compounds are industrially
created compounds substituted with multiple
halogens. Many of them are very toxic and
bioaccumulate in humans, and have a very
wide application range. They include the
much maligned PCB’s, PBDE’s, and PFC’s as
well as numerous other compounds.
 Polyhalogenated
compounds
Polyhalogenated compounds are industrially
created compounds substituted with multiple
halogens. Many of them are very toxic and
bioaccumulate in humans, and have a very
wide application range. They include the
much maligned PCB’s, PBDE’s, and PFC’s as
well as numerous other compounds.
Drug discovery
In drug discovery, the incorporation of halogen
atoms into a lead drug candidate results
in analogues that are usually more lipophilic
and less water soluble.[1] Consequently, halogen
atoms are used to improve penetration
through lipid membranes and tissues. Consequently,
there is an tendency for some
halogenated drugs to accumulate in adipose
tissue.
The chemical reactivity of halogen atoms
depends on both their point of attachment to
the lead and the nature of the halogen. Aromatic
halogen groups are far less reactive
than aliphatic halogen groups, which can exhibit
considerable chemical reactivity. For
aliphatic carbon-halogen bonds the C-F bond
is the strongest and usually less chemically
reactive than aliphatic C-H bonds. The other
aliphatic-halogen bonds are weaker, their reactivity
increasing down the periodic table.
They are usually more chemically reactive
than aliphatic C-H bonds. Consequently, the
most common halogen substitutions are the
less reactive aromatic fluorine and chlorine
groups.
 Solubility in water
Fluorine reacts vigorously with water to produce
oxygen (O2) and hydrogen fluoride
(HF):[2]
2 F2(g) + 2 H2O(l) → O2(g) + 4 HF(aq)
Chlorine has minimal solubility of 0.7g Cl2
per kg of water at ambient temperature
(21oC).[3] Dissolved chlorine reacts to form
hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hypochlorous
acid, a solution that can be used as a disinfectant
or bleach:
Cl2(g) + H2O(l) → HCl(aq) + HClO(aq)
Bromine has a solubility of 3.41 g per 100 g
of water,[4] but it slowly reacts to form hydrogen
bromide (HBr) and hypobromous acid
(HBrO):
Br2(g) + H2O(l) → HBr(aq) + HBrO(aq)
Iodine, however, is minimally soluble in water
(0.03 g/100 g water @ 20 °C) and does
not react with it.[5] However, iodine will form
an aqueous solution in the presence of iodide
ion, such as by addition of potassium iodide
(KI), because the triiodide ion is formed.