Chemical Property of Chlorides

Chlorides are negative ions of chlorine and are represented as Cl. Chlorides are also compounds with chlorine ions in their chemical formula. Chlorides can be salts with chlorine ions, such as hydrogen chloride, sodium chloride, silicon tetrachloride, phosphorus chloride etc. Most of the chlorides are salts that are soluble in water. Chlorides are present in most body fluids like saliva, semen, vaginal discharge, mucus, urine etc.

Various types of chlorides

Hydrogen chloride

Hydrogen chloride is a compound of chlorine and hydrogen with the symbol HCl. Hydrogen chloride is a gas under normal pressure and temperature. When dissolved in water, hydrogen chloride is an example of a polar covalent compound.

Hydrogen chloride was prepared for the first time in 1648 by a German-Dutch chemist and alchemist, Glauber. He formed hydrogen chloride by heating sodium chloride and concentrated H2SO4. In the year 1840, another scientist, Davy, showed that hydrogen chloride is a compound of hydrogen and chlorine.

Chemical properties of hydrogen chloride

Here are some chemical properties of hydrogen chloride:

Reaction with litmus

Dry hydrogen chloride gas has no reaction on litmus. The aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride turns the litmus from blue to red, indicating its acidic nature.

Oxidation

Hydrogen chloride is oxidised by atmospheric oxygen in cuprous chloride’s presence to produce chlorine.

4HCl + O2 → 2H2O + 2Cl2

Acidic properties of HCl

The aqueous form of hydrogen chloride is acidic and almost completely ionised in H2O.

H2O + 4HCl → H3O+ + Cl–

As a reducing agent

Hydrogen chloride acts as a reducing agent as it can be oxidised to chloride with the help of oxidising agents such as potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate and manganese dioxide:

2KMnO4 + 16HCl → 2KCl + 2MnCl2 + 8H2O + 5Cl2

K2Cr2O7 + 14HCl → 2 KCl + 2 CrCl3 + 7 H2O + 3Cl2

MnO2+ 4HCl → MnCl2 + 2H2O + Cl2

Reaction with fluorine

When reacted with fluorine, it displaces chloride from HCl. Here is the chemical reaction:

2HCl + F2 → 2HF

Sodium chloride

Sodium and chlorine combine to generate sodium chloride, also referred to as table salt or common salt, used by practically everybody.

2Na(s) + Cl2(g) → 2NaCl(s)

Chemical properties of sodium chloride

• Sodium chloride is soluble in water but only slightly or not soluble in other liquids.

• These are white crystals that have no odour but do have a flavour.

• NaCl is a good conductor of electricity through its aqueous state due to the unrestricted motion of the ions.

• The melting point of this substance is 801 degrees Celsius and the boiling point is 1,413 degrees Celsius.

Aluminum chloride

Also known as aluminium trichloride, aluminium chloride (AlCl3) is a pure chemical generated when metallic aluminium and chlorine react exothermically. AlCl3 is the chemical formula for aluminium chloride. Aluminium chloride is usually white but becomes yellowish due to impurities.

Aluminium chloride has a wide range of applications. In the Friedel-Crafts reaction, it acts as a Lewis acid catalyst. It is used as an antiperspirant. It is also used in herbicides and medications.

Chemical Property of Aluminium Chloride

• The chemical formula of aluminium chloride is AlCl3

• The weight of aluminium chloride is 133.341 g/mol (anhydrous

• The aluminium chloride density is 2.48 g/cm3 (anhydrous)

• The aluminium chloride melting point is 192.6 °C.

• The aluminium chloride boiling point is 180 °C

• Both the melting and boiling points are on the down side. 

• It reaches its pinnacle at 180°C.

• AlCl3 is a poor conductor of electricity in its molten condition.

• Aluminium chloride is white but frequently turns yellow when contaminated with iron trichloride.

• It is only liquid at pressures greater than 2.5 atm and temperatures greater than 190°C. 

Silicon tetrachloride

Tetrachlorosilane, often known as silicon tetrachloride, is an inorganic chemical called SiCl4 . It is a colourless, flammable substance that emits vapours into the atmosphere.  It is used in commercial applications to make pure silicon or silica.

Chemical properties of silicon tetrachloride

• It possesses a boiling temperature that allows for fractional distillation; silicon tetrachloride is an intermediary in producing polysilicon, a pure hyper form of silicon. 

• In hydrogenation reactors, it is decreased to trichlorosilane HCl₃Si , which is utilised in the Siemens process further or lowered to silane (SiH4) then put into a fluidised bed reactor.

• Silicon tetrachloride was produced as a byproduct in both procedures and therefore is reused in the hydrogenation reactor. At around 1250 °C, vapour phase epitaxy for lowering formula for silicon tetrachloride by hydrogen was performed.

Phosphorus chlorides

A phosphorus chloride is a type of compound that helps to form phosphorus with chlorine.

Phosphorus chlorides are known to form two types of chlorides, phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) and phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5). Phosphorus trichloride is an oily liquid that is highly toxic. These chlorides are usually covalent in nature

Chemical properties of phosphorus chlorides

• When a dry type of chlorine has its heated effect on white phosphorus, then phosphorus trichloride is formed.

 P4 + 6Cl2 → 4PCl3

• Whenever the thionyl chloride starts reacting with the white phosphorus, then phosphorus trichloride will produce.

P + 8SOCl2 → 4PCl3 + 4SO2 + 2S2Cl2

Phosphorus pentachloride is basically a yellowish-white water-sensitive solid. This compound is easily soluble with carbon tetrachloride and others like carbon disulfide, benzene and diethyl ether. Its structure looks bipyramidal in gaseous state and in liquid phases. 

In solid state, it acts like an ionic solid. [PCl4]+[PCl6]– in this chemical formula, cation is positive and tetrahedral, and the anion is negative. [PCl6]– is the octahedral chemical preparation of this compound.

• When the white phosphorus reacts with dry chlorine it produces phosphorus pentachloride.

Conclusion

Chlorides form when the element chlorine gains one electron. It is a natural element present in water and most often found in salts. Chloride ions are way heavier than the chlorine atom due to one extra ion. This ion is colourless and diamagnetic in nature.