| Reactions of Chlorine |
 Reactions with water |
| Chlorine reacts with water to produce hypochlorite, OCl-. The pH of the solution determines the position of the equilibrium.
|
Cl2(g) + H2O(l) OCl-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) |
| Reactions with air |
| Chlorine is not reactive towards nitrogen or oxygen.
|
| Reactions with halogens |
| Fluorine reacts with chlorine at 225°C to form the interhalogen species ClF. The trifluoride chlorine(III) fluoride is also formed if the reaction does
not go to completion.
|
Cl2(g) + F2(g) 2ClF(g) |
| Cl2(g) + 3F2(g)2ClF3(g) |
| Under more forcing conditions, excess fluorine reacts with chlorine at 350°C and 225 atmospheres pressure to form the interhalogen species ClF5.
|
| Cl2(g) + 5F2(g)2ClF5(g) |
| Chlorine, reacts with bromine in the gas phase to form the unstable interhalogen species bromine(I) chloride, ClBr.
|
| Cl2(g) + Br2(g)2ClBr(g)
|
| Chlorine reacts with iodine at room temperature to form the interhalogen species iodine(I) chloride, ClI.
|
| Cl2(g) + I2(s)2ICl(s) |
| Reactions with bases |
| Chlorine reacts with hot aqueous alkali to produce chlorate, ClO3-. Only one sixth of the total chlorine is converted in this reaction.
|
| 3Cl2(g) + 6OH-(aq)ClO3-(aq) + 5Cl-(aq) + 3H2O
|
| |
| Reduction Potentials |
| Balanced half-reaction |
E0 / V
|
| Cl2(g) + 2e-2Cl- |
+1.359 |
| Cl2(aq) + 2e-2Cl- |
+1.39 |
| ClO4- + 2H+ + 2e-ClO3- + H2O
|
+1.19 |
| ClO4- + H2O + 2e-ClO3- + 2OH- |
+0.36 |
| 2ClO4- + 16H+ + 14e-Cl2(g) + 8H2O
|
+1.39 |
| ClO3- + 3H+ + 2e-HClO2 + H2O
|
+1.21 |
| ClO3- + H2O + 2e-ClO2- + 2OH- |
+0.33 |
| 2ClO3- + 12H+ + 10e-Cl2(g) + 3H2O
|
+1.47 |
| HClO2 + 2H+ + 2e-HClO + H2O
|
+1.64 |
| ClO2- + H2O + 2e-ClO- + 2OH- |
+0.66 |
| 2HClO + 2H+ + 2e-Cl2(g) + H2O
|
+1.63 |
| 2ClO- + 2H2O + 2e-Cl2(g) + 4OH- |
+0.40 |