CH-180 Properties of the Halogens

The halogens make up the group of elements next to the Noble Gases in the Periodic Table: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. Because the atoms of these elements have seven valence electrons, and because they have high electronegativities, the halogens appear as diatomic molecules: !, "l!, Br!, #!, and $t!. $ single covalent bond %&bond' (oins the atoms in each molecule. The halogens are nonmetals, so it isn)t surprising that they react *ith both metals and nonmetals, forming ionic compounds *ith the metals, and covalent compounds *ith the nonmetals. The halogens also form a number of polyatomic anions, the most important of *hich are the ions composed of a halogen and one or more oxygen atoms: +,&, +,!&, +,-&, and +,.& %*here + / "l, Br, or #'. #n this experiment, *e investigate some chemical and physical properties of "l !, Br!, and #!. 0e *on)t use ! because of its extremely high reactivity: ! reacts *ith all elements except some of the noble gases, and it *ill react *ith most compounds, including the glass of your beakers, test tubes, and flasks. 0e *on)t use $t! in this experiment because astatine is radioactive. Besides, $t ! is rare and almost impossible to buy. Experimental Procedure: 1. 2xamine the containers of the elements located in one of the *all&mounted fume hoods. Note the color and physical state of the elements at room temperature. 3ook up the physical properties of "l!, Br!, and #! in a reference, such as the "4" 5andbook %available in 6G !1. and in the 7tockroom'. !. 8sing small amounts %less than one shake of a salt shaker' and clean 19 :; mm test tubes, determine *hether solid Na"l, NaBr, or Na# dissolve in *ater. Next, determine *hether or not hexane %"<51.' dissolves in *ater. inally, test solid Na"l, NaBr, and Na# to see if these ionic compounds *ill dissolve in hexane. 0ater is polar= hexane is nonpolar: *hat can you conclude about the ability of the three salts to dissolve in polar and nonpolar li>uids? -. $lthough diatomic molecules like "l!, Br!, and #! are considered by chemists to be nonpolar, these substances do have a limited ability to dissolve in *ater. 0here do you think "l!, Br!, or #! *ould end up, if given the chance to dissolve in either *ater or hexane? @esign and perform a procedure to find out *hether "l!, Br!, and #! %the halogens' *ill dissolve readily in hexane. $re your observations consistent *ith the conclusions about solubility that you obtained above? Aou might be *ondering *hy *e are attempting to make observations on the interactions of halogens and halides *ith hexane. The reason becomes apparent *ith a little study: the halogens produce different colors *hen dissolved in hexane: "l! is colorless, Br! is yello*&orange, and #! is purple %recall that Br! and #! produce the same color in *ater.' Therefore, by introducing hexane to receive the "l!, Br!, or #! that is produced in a chemical reaction, *e can >uickly and conveniently kno* *hich halogen *as produced. The hexane does not react *ith the halogens= rather, the

2 hexane merely provides a place for the halogen to be observed. All of the chemical reactions take place in the ater layer! .. No* *e *ill look at reactions bet*een halogens %"l!, Br!, #!' and halide ions %"l&, Br&, #&'. "ur classroom theory suggests that the element ha#ing the highest electronegati#ity ill be the one that gains electrons in a chemical reaction . 7o, *hat *ould happen if *e mixed some chlorine *ater %a source of "l!' *ith some Na# %a source of #&'? The reaction e>uation is: "l! B ! #& ! "l& B #! @o you see ho* the more electronegative chlorine atoms gained electrons to become ions, *hile the iodine atoms lost electrons? No* perform the follo*ing procedures, in order to see if the halogens and halides behave in a manner consistent *ith our theory)s predictions. a. #nto a 1- 199 test tube shake together %use a clean corkC' 19 drops of 9.! 6 Na# solution and 19 drops of hexane. Note the color of the hexane layer. 0hy is there no color? No* add !9 drops of chlorine *ater to the test tube. 7topper the tube and shake vigorously for 1; seconds. 4ecord the color of the hexane layer. 0hy is the hexane no* colored? 0e added chlorine *ater, but "l! is colorless in hexane as *e observed in step - of the procedure. The Br& and #& ions *ere also colorless before *e added the chlorine *ater. 3ook at the test tube *ith Na# in it. "ompare the color of the hexane layer to the color of the hexane layer for iodine *ater, # !, in step - of the procedure. #f a reaction occurred, the follo*ing e>uation *ould describe the reaction: "l! B ! #& #! B ! "l& b. 4epeat the procedure for step .%a', but use 9.! 6 NaBr instead of 9.! 6 Na#. Be sure to record the color of the hexane layer. @id you see evidence of a reaction? 0hat reaction e>uation *ould describe the reaction, if one did occur? c. 4epeat the procedure for step .%a', but use bromine *ater instead of chlorine *ater. 5ere, the reaction e>uation *ould be: Br! B ! #& #! B ! Br& @id you see evidence of such a reaction? 4ecord your observations. 0ould the reaction be consistent *ith our classroom theory, *ith its emphasis on electronegativity? d. 6ix Na"l solution and bromine *ater together, patterning your procedure after your *ork in step .%a'. @id you see evidence of a chemical reaction of Br! *ith "l& ions? 4ecord observations. e. 4epeat the procedure again. This time use 9.! 6 NaBr and iodine *ater. ,nce again, *rite the reaction e>uation that *ould describe the reaction, if it should occur. 0as there a reaction? Note the hexane layer$s color. f. inally, repeat the procedure again, using 9.! 6 Na"l and iodine *ater. 0as there a reaction? Note the hexane layer$s color. ;. or many years, people have kno*n that $gB can react *ith "l&, Br&, or #& to form sil#er halide salts% $g"l, $gBr, or $g#. 7urprisingly, the salts aren)t soluble in *ater. To chemists, the salts are

3 very useful in analysis of samples for the presence of "l , Br , or # ions. T*o properties && color and solubility in ammonium hydroxide && are used to tell the halide salts apart.
& & &

a. 6ix together e>ual volumes of 9.! 6 Na"l and 9.! 6 $gN, - to make about 1 m3 of solution in a 1- 199 mm test tube. @o the same in a second test tube, using 9.! 6 NaBr and 9.! 6 $gN, -= and like*ise in a third test tube, using 9.! 6 Na# and 9.! 6 $gN, -. 4ecord the colors of the silver chloride, silver bromide, and silver iodide precipitates that form. b. 8se about 1 m3 of dilute %; 6' ammonium hydroxide solution per test tube to test the solubility of the silver salts in dilute ammonium hydroxide. #f any of the salts fail to dissolve after shaking, add 1 m3 of concentrated %1; 6' ammonium hydroxide and shake *ell. Caution% use a fume hood for 1& ' ammonium hydroxide( #f any precipitates still have not dissolved, add another m3 of 1; 6 ammonium hydroxide. "an you dra* any conclusions about the salts) solubility? 4ecord your observations and conclusions. <. ,btain an unkno*n salt %Na"l, NaBr, Na#' solution from the stockroom *indo*. Be sure to record the sample)s #@ number. 8sing *hat you have learned about halogens and halide ions in parts -, ., and ;, perform tests to let you determine *hich halide ion %"l&, Br&, or #&' is present in your sample. 4emember, t*o different tests leading to the same conclusion are better than one= three are better than t*o, etc. Be sure to record the procedure that you used. 4eturn the 1- 199 test tube in *hich the unkno*n salt solution came to the stockroom *indo* after you clean it. :. 8se the report form provided to complete your report.

4 Electronegati#ity -- A )ey Property in Chemical *eactions 0e)ve seen that atoms achieve lo*est energy *hen the electrons are all in completely filled sublevels. But, reactions often occur bet*een atoms that already have all electrons in completely filled sublevels. 0hy do these reactions occur? 0ell, the property of electronegati#ity provides us *ith an explanation. 2lectronegativity %en' is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons to itself. $s a periodic trend %seen in the DProperties of the 2lementsD lab', the en increases from left to right across the Periodic Table)s ro*s, and increases from bottom to top of the Table)s groups. #f a high&en element comes in contact *ith an element of lo*er en, the high&en element may be able to take electrons a*ay from the lo*&en element. +uestion% Predict *hether or not the follo*ing chemical species can react *hen placed together. 7ho* your reasoning.
a.
!

E "a

4eaction? 4eaction? 4eaction?

Aes Aes Aes Aes

No No No No

b. "l! E 5B c. 3i E Na

d. Br& E "l! 4eaction?

The reactions described above are called oxidation-reduction reactions, nicknamed redox reactions. $ redox reaction al*ays involves the transfer of control of electrons from one chemical species to another. 2lectronegativity can explain ionic bonding, but *e can also use electronegativity to explain covalent bonding:
"5. B ! ,! ",! B ! 5!,

electrons e>ually shared

une>ual sharing of electrons

The high&electronegativity , bonds *ith the lo*er&electronegativity " and 5, so that electrons are attracted more to the , atoms than they are to " andFor 5. Think of covalent bonding as a partnership: , seeks to be the ma(ority partner, *hile " and 5 are content to be minority partners.