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Bromine ( or ), , meaning "stench (of he-goats)" ), is a chemical element
Chemical element

A chemical element is a type of atom that is distinguished by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its atomic nucleus. The term is also used to refer to a pure chemical Chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of protons....
 with the symbol Br and atomic number
Atomic number

In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the atomic nucleus of an atom. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z....
 35. A halogen
Halogen

|}The halogens or halogen elements are a chemical series of nonmetal chemical element from Periodic table group International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry of the periodic table, comprising fluorine, F; chlorine, Cl; bromine, Br; iodine, I; and astatine, At....
 element, bromine is a reddish-brown volatile
Volatility (chemistry)

Volatility in the context of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics is a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes....
 liquid at standard room temperature
Standard conditions for temperature and pressure

In physical sciences, standard conditions for temperature and pressure are standard sets of conditions for experimental measurements, to allow comparisons to be made between different sets of data....
 that is intermediate in reactivity between chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 and iodine
Iodine

Iodine , is a chemical element that has the symbol I and atomic number 53. Naturally-occurring iodine is a single isotope with 74 neutrons....
. Bromine vapours are corrosive
Corrosive

A corrosive substance is one that will destroy or irreversibly damage another substance with which it comes in contact. The main hazards to people include damage to eyes, skin and tissue under the skin, but inhalation or ingestion of a corrosive substance can damage the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts....
 and toxic. Approximately 556,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2007. The main applications for bromine are in fire retardant
Fire retardant

A fire retardant is a substance that helps delay or prevent combustion. Fire retardants are commonly used in fire fighting. Water is the most commonly used fire retardant, but the phrase typically refers to chemical retardants, including fire-fighting foams and fire-retardant gels....
s and fine chemicals.

ine was discovered independently by two chemists Antoine Balard
Antoine Jérôme Balard

Antoine J?r?me Balard was a France chemist and the discoverer of bromine.Born at Montpellier, he started as an apothecary, but taking up teaching he acted as chemical assistant at the faculty of sciences of his native town, and then became professor of chemistry at the royal college and school of pharmacy and at the faculty of sciences....
 and Carl Jacob Löwig
Carl Jacob Löwig

Carl Jacob L?wig was a German chemist and discovered bromine independently from Antoine J?r?me Balard.He received his PhD at the University of Heidelberg for his work with Leopold Gmelin....
 in 1825 and 1826.

Balard found bromide salts in the ash of sea weed from the salt marshes of Montpellier
Montpellier

Montpellier is a city in the south of France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regions of France, as well as the H?rault Departments of France....
 in 1826.






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Bromine ( or ), , meaning "stench (of he-goats)" ), is a chemical element
Chemical element

A chemical element is a type of atom that is distinguished by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its atomic nucleus. The term is also used to refer to a pure chemical Chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of protons....
 with the symbol Br and atomic number
Atomic number

In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the atomic nucleus of an atom. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z....
 35. A halogen
Halogen

|}The halogens or halogen elements are a chemical series of nonmetal chemical element from Periodic table group International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry of the periodic table, comprising fluorine, F; chlorine, Cl; bromine, Br; iodine, I; and astatine, At....
 element, bromine is a reddish-brown volatile
Volatility (chemistry)

Volatility in the context of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics is a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes....
 liquid at standard room temperature
Standard conditions for temperature and pressure

In physical sciences, standard conditions for temperature and pressure are standard sets of conditions for experimental measurements, to allow comparisons to be made between different sets of data....
 that is intermediate in reactivity between chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 and iodine
Iodine

Iodine , is a chemical element that has the symbol I and atomic number 53. Naturally-occurring iodine is a single isotope with 74 neutrons....
. Bromine vapours are corrosive
Corrosive

A corrosive substance is one that will destroy or irreversibly damage another substance with which it comes in contact. The main hazards to people include damage to eyes, skin and tissue under the skin, but inhalation or ingestion of a corrosive substance can damage the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts....
 and toxic. Approximately 556,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2007. The main applications for bromine are in fire retardant
Fire retardant

A fire retardant is a substance that helps delay or prevent combustion. Fire retardants are commonly used in fire fighting. Water is the most commonly used fire retardant, but the phrase typically refers to chemical retardants, including fire-fighting foams and fire-retardant gels....
s and fine chemicals.

History

Bromine was discovered independently by two chemists Antoine Balard
Antoine Jérôme Balard

Antoine J?r?me Balard was a France chemist and the discoverer of bromine.Born at Montpellier, he started as an apothecary, but taking up teaching he acted as chemical assistant at the faculty of sciences of his native town, and then became professor of chemistry at the royal college and school of pharmacy and at the faculty of sciences....
 and Carl Jacob Löwig
Carl Jacob Löwig

Carl Jacob L?wig was a German chemist and discovered bromine independently from Antoine J?r?me Balard.He received his PhD at the University of Heidelberg for his work with Leopold Gmelin....
 in 1825 and 1826.

Balard found bromide salts in the ash of sea weed from the salt marshes of Montpellier
Montpellier

Montpellier is a city in the south of France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regions of France, as well as the H?rault Departments of France....
 in 1826. The sea weed was used to produce iodine, but also contained bromine. Balard distilled the bromine from a solution of seaweed ash saturated with chlorine. The properties of the resulting substance resembled that of an intermediate of chlorine and iodine, with those results he tried to prove that the substance was iodine monochloride
Iodine monochloride

Iodine monochloride is the chemical compound with the formula ICl. It is a red-brown compound that melts near room temperature. Because of the difference in the electronegativity of iodine and chlorine, ICl is highly chemical polarity and behaves as a source of I+....
 (ICl), but after failing to do so he was sure that he found a new element and named it muride, derived from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word muria for brine.

Carl Jacob Löwig isolated bromine from mineral water spring from his home town Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach

Bad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach , Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Nahe River, a tributary of the Rhine....
 in 1825. Löwig used a solution of the mineral salt saturated with chlorine and extracted the bromine with diethylether. After evaporation of the ether a brown liquid remained. With this liquid as a sample for his work he applied for a position in the laboratory of Leopold Gmelin
Leopold Gmelin

Leopold Gmelin was a Germany chemist.Gmelin was the son of Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He studied medicine and chemistry at G?ttingen, T?bingen and Vienna, and in 1813 began to lecture on chemistry at Heidelberg, where in 1814 he was appointed extraordinary-, and in 1817 ordinary-, professor of chemistry and medicine....
 in Heidelberg
Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a city in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany. As of 2006, over 140,000 people live within the city's area. The town of Heidelberg is an administrative district of its own....
. The publication of the results was delayed and Balard published his results first.

After the French chemists Louis Nicolas Vauquelin
Louis Nicolas Vauquelin

Louis Nicolas Vauquelin , was a French pharmacist and chemist.Early lifeVauquelin was born at Saint-Andr?-d'H?bertot in Normandy, France....
, Louis Jacques Thénard
Louis Jacques Thénard

Louis Jacques Th?nard , was a France chemist.His father, a poor peasant, managed to have him educated at the academy of Sens, and sent him at the age of sixteen to study pharmacy in Paris....
, and Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac approved the experiments of the young pharmacist Balard, the results where presented at a lecture of the Académie des Sciences and published in Annales de Chimie et Physique. In his publication Balard states that he changed the name from muride to brôme on the proposal of M. Anglada. Other sources claim that the French chemist and physicist Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac suggested the name brôme due to the characteristic smell of the vapors. Bromine was not produced in quantity until 1860.

The first commercial use, besides some minor medical applications, was the use of bromine for the daguerreotype
Daguerreotype

A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor....
. In 1840 it was discovered that bromine had some advantages over the previous used iodine vapour to create the light sensitive silver halide
Silver halide

A silver halide is one of the Chemical compound formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , silver chloride , silver iodide , and two forms of silver fluorides....
 layer used for daguerreotypy.

Potassium bromide
Potassium bromide

Potassium bromide is a salt , widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its action is due to the bromide ion ....
 and sodium bromide
Sodium bromide

Sodium bromide, also known as sedoneural is a salt with the formula sodiumbromine, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
 were used as anticonvulsants and sedatives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, until they were gradually superseded by chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate

Chloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic approved drug as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral by the addition of one molecule of water....
 and then the barbiturate
Barbiturate

Barbiturates are medication that act as central nervous system depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia....
s.

Characteristics

Bromine is the only liquid nonmetal
Nonmetal

Nonmetal is a term used in chemistry when classifying the chemical elements. On the basis of their general physical and chemical properties, every element in the periodic table can be termed either a metal or a nonmetal....
lic element at room temperature
Room temperature

Room temperature is a common term to denote a certain temperature within enclosed space at which humans are accustomed.Room temperature is thus often indicated by general human comfort, with the common range of 10celsius to 23?C , though climate may acclimatize people to higher or lower temperatures....
, and one of only six elements on the periodic table that are liquid at or close to room temperature. The melting point
Melting point

The melting point of a solid is the temperature range at which it changes states of matter from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium....
 of bromine is -7.2 °C and has the boiling point
Boiling point

The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....
 58.8 °C. The pure chemical element has the physical form of a diatomic molecule, Br2. It is a dense, mobile, reddish-brown liquid, that evaporates easily at standard temperature and pressures to give a red vapor (its color resembles nitrogen dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide

Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the chemical formula NitrogenOxygen2. One of several nitrogen oxides, NO2 is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year....
) that has a strong disagreeable odor resembling that of chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
. Bromine is a halogen
Halogen

|}The halogens or halogen elements are a chemical series of nonmetal chemical element from Periodic table group International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry of the periodic table, comprising fluorine, F; chlorine, Cl; bromine, Br; iodine, I; and astatine, At....
, and is less reactive than chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 and more reactive than iodine
Iodine

Iodine , is a chemical element that has the symbol I and atomic number 53. Naturally-occurring iodine is a single isotope with 74 neutrons....
. Bromine is slightly soluble
Solubility

Solubility is often seen as a property of a substance; for instance the solubility of a solid substance usually refers to the concentration of the substance in a liquid that has reached equilibrium with the substance in solid phase ....
 in water
Water (molecule)

File:Blue-water-pool.jpgWater is the most abundant molecule on Earth's surface, constituting about 70% of the Earth's surface in liquid, solid, and gaseous states....
, and highly soluble in carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide

Carbon disulfide is a colorless, volatile liquid with the chemical formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent....
, aliphatic alcohol
Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
s (such as methanol
Methanol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula carbonhydrogen3oxygenhydrogen ....
), and acetic acid
Acetic acid

Acetic acid, CH3COOH, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic acid which gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. Pure, water-free acetic acid is a colourless liquid that absorbs water from the environment , and freezes at 16.7 Celsius to a colourless crystalline solid....
. It bonds
Chemical bond

A chemical bond is the physical process responsible for the attractive interactions between atoms and molecules, and that which confers stability to diatomic and polyatomic chemical compounds....
 easily with many elements and has a strong bleaching action. Bromine, like chlorine, is also used in maintenance of swimming pools.

Certain bromine-related compounds have been evaluated to have an ozone depletion potential
Ozone depletion potential

The ozone depletion potential of a chemical compound is the relative amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause, with trichlorofluoromethane being fixed at an ODP of 1.0....
 or bioaccumulate in living organisms. As a result many industrial bromine compounds are no longer manufactured, are being restricted, or scheduled for phasing out. The Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion....
 mentions several organobromine compounds for this phase out.

Bromine is a powerful oxidizing agent
Oxidizing agent

An oxidizing agent can be defined as either:#a chemical compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms, or#a substance that gains electrons in a redox chemical reaction...
. It reacts vigorously with metals, especially in the presence of water, as well as most organic compounds, especially upon illumination
Photochemistry

Photochemistry, a sub-discipline of chemistry, is the study of the interactions between atoms, small molecules, and light . The pillars of photochemistry are UV/VIS spectroscopy, photochemical reactions in organic chemistry and photosynthesis in biochemistry....
.

Isotopes


Bromine has 2 stable isotope
Isotope

Isotopes are any of the different types of atoms of the same chemical element, each having a different atomic mass . Isotopes of an element have atomic nucleus with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutron....
s: 79Br (50.69 %) and 81Br (49.31%). At least another 23 radioisotopes are known to exist. Many of the bromine isotopes are fission products. Several of the heavier bromine isotopes from fission are delayed neutron emitters. All of the radioactive bromine isotopes are relatively short lived. The longest half life is the neutron deficient 77Br at 2.376 days. The longest half life on the neutron rich side is 82Br at 1.471 days. A number of the bromine isotopes exhibit metastable isomers. Stable 79Br exhibits a radioactive isomer, with a half life of 4.86 seconds. It decays by isomeric transition to the stable ground state.

Occurrence and production

See also Halide minerals.


The diatomic element Br2 does not occur naturally. Instead, bromine exists exclusively as bromide salts
Bromide

A bromide ion is a bromine atom with electric charge of -1.Compounds with bromine in formal oxidation state -1 are called bromides, and each individual chemical in this class can be called a bromide, as well....
 in diffuse amounts in crustal
Crust (geology)

In geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle . Crusts of Earth , our Moon, Mercury , Venus, and Mars have been generated largely by igneous processes, and these crusts are richer in incompatible elements than their respective mantle s....
 rock. Due to leaching
Leaching

In general, leaching is the extraction of certain materials from a carrier into a liquid . Specifically, it may refer to:*Leaching *Leaching ...
, bromide salts have accumulated in sea water (65 ppm), but at a lower concentration than chloride. Bromine may be economically recovered from bromide-rich brine wells and from the Dead Sea
Dead Sea

For the Brian Keene book of the same name, see Dead Sea The Dead Sea is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east....
 waters (up to 50000 ppm).

Sts028 96 65
Approximately 556,000 metric tons (worth around US$2.5 billion) of bromine are produced per year (2007) worldwide with the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, and China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 being the primary producers. Bromine production has increased sixfold since the 1960s. The largest bromine reserve in the United States is located in Columbia
Columbia County, Arkansas

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 25,603. The county seat is Magnolia, Arkansas....
 and Union County, Arkansas
Union County, Arkansas

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 45,629. The county seat is El Dorado, Arkansas....
, U.S. China's bromine reserves are located in the Shandong Province and Israel's bromine reserves are contained in the waters of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea

For the Brian Keene book of the same name, see Dead Sea The Dead Sea is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east....
. The bromide-rich brines are treated with chlorine gas, flushing through with air. In this treatment, bromide anions are oxidized to bromine by the chlorine gas.

2 Br- + Cl2 ? 2 Cl- + Br2


Because of its commercial availability and long shelf-life, bromine is not typically prepared. Small amounts of bromine can however be generated through the reaction of solid sodium bromide
Sodium bromide

Sodium bromide, also known as sedoneural is a salt with the formula sodiumbromine, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
 with concentrated sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid, hydrogen2sulfuroxygen4, is a strong mineral acid. It is soluble in water at all concentrations. Sulfuric acid has many applications, and is one of the top products of the chemical industry....
 (H2SO4). The first stage is formation of hydrogen bromide
Hydrogen bromide

Hydrogen bromide is the diatomic molecule HydrogenBromine. Under standard conditions, HBr is a gas, but it can be liquified. The aqueous solution hydrobromic acid forms upon dissolving HBr in water....
 (HBr), which is a gas, but under the reaction conditions some of the HBr is oxidized further by the sulfuric acid to form bromine (Br2) and sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide

Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. It is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide....
 (SO2).
NaBr (s) + H2SO4 (aq) ? HBr (aq) + NaHSO4 (aq)
2 HBr (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) ? Br2 (g) + SO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l)


Similar alternatives, such as the use of dilute hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong acid mineral acid and has major industrial uses....
 with sodium hypochlorite
Sodium hypochlorite

Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NaClO. Sodium hypochlorite solution, commonly known as bleach, is frequently used as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent....
, are also available. The most important thing is that the anion of the acid
Acid

An acid is traditionally considered any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a hydrogen ion Activity greater than in pure water, i.e....
 (in the above examples, sulfate
Sulfate

In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid....
 and chloride
Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the chemical element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−....
, respectively) be more electronegative than bromine, allowing the substitution reaction
Substitution reaction

In a substitution reaction, a functional group in a particular chemical compound is replaced by another group . In organic chemistry, the electrophile and nucleophile substitution reactions are of prime importance....
 to occur.

Compounds


Organic chemistry
N Bromosuccinimide Structure
Organic compounds are brominated by either addition
Addition reaction

An addition reaction, in organic chemistry, is in its simplest terms an organic reaction where two or more molecules combine to form a larger one....
 or substitution reactions. Bromine undergoes electrophilic addition to the double-bonds of alkene
Alkene

In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an Saturation chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond....
s, via a cyclic bromonium intermediate. In non-aqueous solvents such as carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide

Carbon disulfide is a colorless, volatile liquid with the chemical formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent....
, this affords the di-bromo product. For example, reaction with ethylene
Ethylene

Ethylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H4. It is the simplest alkene. Because it contains a carbon-carbon double bond, ethylene is called an unsaturated hydrocarbon or an olefin....
 will produce 1,2-dibromoethane
1,2-Dibromoethane

1,2-Dibromoethane is the chemical compound with the formula BromineCarbonHydrogen2CarbonHydrogen2Bromine. Although trace amounts occurs naturally in the ocean, where it is formed probably by algae and kelp, it is mainly a synthetic....
. Bromine also undergoes electrophilic addition to phenol
Phenol

Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is a toxic, white crystalline solid with a sweet tarry odor, commonly referred to as a "hospital smell"....
s and aniline
Aniline

Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the Chemical formula C6H7N. It is the simplest and one of the most important aromatic amines, being used as a precursor to more complex chemicals....
s. When used as bromine water, a small amount of the corresponding bromohydrin is formed
Halohydrin formation reaction

The halohydrin formation reaction is a chemical reaction in which a halogen is added to an alkene in aqueous solution to form a halohydrin. The reaction is a form of electrophilic addition; it is similar to the halogen addition reaction....
 as well as the dibromo compound. So reliable is the reactivity of bromine that bromine water is employed as a reagent to test for the presence of alkenes, phenols, and anilines. Like the other halogens, bromine participates in free radical reaction
Free radical reaction

A free radical reaction is any chemical reaction involving free radicals. This reaction type is abundant in organic reactions.Two pioneering studies into free radical reactions have been the discovery of the triphenylmethyl radical by Moses Gomberg and the lead-mirror experiment described by Friedrich Paneth in 1927....
s. For example hydrocarbons are brominated upon treatment with bromine in the presence of light.

Bromine, sometimes with a catalytic amount of phosphorus
Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. The name comes from the and . A Valency nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate minerals....
, easily brominates carboxylic acid
Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group, which has the Chemical formula -COH, usually written -COOH or -CO2H....
s at the a-position. This method, the Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky reaction, is the basis of the commercial route to bromoacetic acid
Bromoacetic acid

Bromoacetic acid is the chemical compound with the chemical formula CH2BrCO2H. This colorless solid is a relatively strong alkylating agent....
. N-Bromosuccinimide
N-Bromosuccinimide

N-Bromosuccinimide or NBS is a chemical reagent which is used in radical substitution and electrophilic addition chemical reaction in organic chemistry....
 is commonly used as a substitute for elemental bromine, being easier to handle, and reacting more mildly and thus more selectively. Organic bromides are often preferable relative to the less reactive chlorides and more expensive iodide-containing reagents. Thus, Grignard
Grignard

Grignard can be a French last name, or refers to an organic chemical reaction.* Victor Grignard, a France Organic Chemistry.* The Grignard Company a chemical manufacturer....
 and organolithium compound are most often generated from the corresponding bromides.

Inorganic chemistry

Bromine is an oxidizer, and it will oxidize iodide
Iodide

An iodide ion is an iodine with a −1 electric charge. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. This can include ionic compounds such as caesium iodide or covalent compounds such as phosphorus triiodide....
 ions to iodine, being itself reduced to bromide
Bromide

A bromide ion is a bromine atom with electric charge of -1.Compounds with bromine in formal oxidation state -1 are called bromides, and each individual chemical in this class can be called a bromide, as well....
:
Br2 + 2 I- ? 2 Br- + I2


Bromine will also oxidize metals and metalloids to the corresponding bromides. Anhydrous
Anhydrous

As a general term, a substance is said to be anhydrous if it contains no water. The way of achieving the anhydrous form differs from one substance to another....
 bromine is less reactive toward many metals than hydrated bromine, however. Dry bromine reacts vigorously with aluminium
Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
, titanium
Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Sometimes called the ?space age metal?, it has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver colour....
, mercury
Mercury (element)

Mercury , also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum , is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. A heavy, silvery d-block metal, mercury is one of six elements that are liquid at or near room temperature and pressure....
 as well as alkaline earth
Alkaline earth metal

The alkaline earth metals are a chemical series of chemical element comprising Periodic table group of the periodic table: beryllium , magnesium , calcium , strontium , barium and radium ....
s and alkali metal
Alkali metal

The alkali metals are a chemical series of chemical elements comprising Periodic table group of the periodic table: lithium , sodium , potassium , rubidium , caesium , and francium ....
s.

If bromine is dissolved in hydroxide containing water not only bromide (Br-) is formed, but also the hypobromite
Hypobromite

The hypobromite ion is BrO-. Bromine is in oxidation state +1....
 (OBr-). This hypobromite is responsible for the bleaching abilities of bromide solutions. In warm solutions the disproportion reaction of the hypobromite is quantitive. The resulting bromate
Bromate

The bromate ion, , is a bromine-based oxyanion. A bromate is a chemical compound that contains this ion. Examples of bromates include sodium bromate, , and potassium bromate, ....
 is a strong oxidation reagent and very similar to the chlorate.
3 OBr- ? BrO3- + 2 Br-


The perbromates are not accessible through electrolysis like the perchlorate
Perchlorate

Perchlorates are the salt derived from perchloric acid . They occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They have been used as a medicine for more than 50 years to treat thyroid gland disorders....
s, but only by reacting bromate solutions with fluorine
Fluorine

Fluorine is the chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. Fluorine forms a single bond with itself in elemental form, resulting in the diatomic F2 molecule....
.
OBr- + H2O + F2 ? BrO4- + 2 HF

Applications

A wide variety of organobromine compounds are used in industry
Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
. Some are prepared from bromine and others are prepared from hydrogen bromide
Hydrogen bromide

Hydrogen bromide is the diatomic molecule HydrogenBromine. Under standard conditions, HBr is a gas, but it can be liquified. The aqueous solution hydrobromic acid forms upon dissolving HBr in water....
, which is obtained by burning hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 in bromine.

Illustrative of the addition reaction is the preparation of 1,2-Dibromoethane
1,2-Dibromoethane

1,2-Dibromoethane is the chemical compound with the formula BromineCarbonHydrogen2CarbonHydrogen2Bromine. Although trace amounts occurs naturally in the ocean, where it is formed probably by algae and kelp, it is mainly a synthetic....
, the organobromine compound produced in the largest amounts:
C2H4 + Br2 ? CH2BrCH2Br


Flame retardant

Brominated flame retardants represent a commodity of growing importance. If the material burns the flame retardents produce hydrobromic acid
Hydrobromic acid

Hydrobromic acid is a strong acid acid formed by dissolving the diatomic molecule hydrogen bromide in water. It has a Acid dissociation constant of −9, making it a stronger acid than hydrochloric acid, but not as strong as hydrogen iodide....
 which interferes in the radical chain reaction
Chain reaction

A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
 of the oxidation reaction of the fire. The highly reactive hydrogen oxygen and hydroxy radicals react with hydrobromic acid and form less reactive bromine radicals. The bromine containing compounds can be placed in the polymeres either during polymerisation if a small amount of brominated monomer is added or the bromine containing compound is added after polymerisation. Tetrabromobisphenol A
Tetrabromobisphenol A

Tetrabromobisphenol A is a brominated flame retardant....
 can be added to produce polyester
Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate ....
s or epoxy resins. An epoxy resigns used for printed circuit board
Printed circuit board

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using Conductor pathways, or signal traces, industrial etchinged from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate....
s (PCB) are normally made from flame retardant resigns, indicated by the FR in the abbreviation of the products (FR-4
FR-4

FR-4, an abbreviation for Flame Retardant 4, is a type of material used for making a printed circuit board . It describes the board substrate, with no copper layer....
 and FR-2
FR-2

FR-2 is an abbreviation for Flame Resistant 2. It is a National Electrical Manufacturers Association designation for synthetic resin bonded paper, a composite material made of paper impregnated with a plasticized phenol formaldehyde resin, used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards....
. Vinyl bromide
Vinyl bromide

Vinyl bromide is a simple vinyl halide. It is soluble in chloroform, ethanol, diethyl ether, acetone and benzene....
 can be used in the production of polyethylene
Polyethylene

Polyethylene or polythene is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products . Over 60 million tons of the material are produced worldwide every year....
, polyvinylchloride or polypropylene
Polypropylene

Polypropylene or polypropene is a thermoplastic polymer, made by the chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes....
. Decabromodiphenyl ether
Decabromodiphenyl ether

Decabromodiphenyl ether is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers ....
 can be added to the final polymeres.

Gasoline additive

Ethylene bromide
1,2-Dibromoethane

1,2-Dibromoethane is the chemical compound with the formula BromineCarbonHydrogen2CarbonHydrogen2Bromine. Although trace amounts occurs naturally in the ocean, where it is formed probably by algae and kelp, it is mainly a synthetic....
 was an additive in gasolines
Gasoline additive

Gasoline additives increase gasoline's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricant, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power, however some carry heavy environmental risks....
 containing lead anti-engine knocking
Engine knocking

Knocking in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air-fuel ratio in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front....
 agents. It scavenges lead by forming volatile lead bromide, which is exhausted from the engine. This application accounted for 77% of the bromine uses in 1966 in the US. This application has declined since the 1970s due to environmental regulations. Ethylene bromide is also used as a fumigant, but again this application is declining.

Pesticide

Methyl bromide was widely used as pesticide
Pesticide

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest .A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest ....
 to fumigate
Fumigation

File:Tent_fumigation.jpgFumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides - or fumigants - to suffocate or poison the pests within....
 soil. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion....
 scheduled the phase out for the ozone depleting chemical until 2005. In 1991, an estimated 35,000 metric tonnes of the chemical were used to control nematodes, fungi, weeds and other soil-borne diseases.

Other Use

  • The bromides of calcium, sodium, and zinc account for a sizable part of the bromine market. These salts form dense solutions in water that are used as drilling fluid
    Drilling fluid

    Drilling a very deep hole is a very costly business. The hole size is kept very small as the drilled depth increases because it is to cased and cemented after wards....
    s sometimes called clear brine fluids.
  • Bromine is also used in for the production of brominated vegetable oil
    Brominated vegetable oil

    Brominated vegetable oil is vegetable oil that has had atoms of the Chemical element bromine bonded to it. Brominated vegetable oil is used as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored soft drinks such as Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Powerade, Pineapple and Orange Fanta, Sun Drop, Squirt and Fresca to help natural fat-soluble citrus flavors stay suspended...
    , which is used as an emulsifier in many citrus
    Citrus

    Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
    -flavored soft drinks (e.g. Mountain Dew). After the introduction in the 1940s the compound was extensively used until the UK and the US limited its use in the mid 1970s and alternative emulsifers were developed. By 1997 in the US still soft drinks are available containing brominated vegetable oil.
  • Several dye
    Dye

    A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an Chemical affinity to the Wiktionary:substrate to which it is being applied....
    s, agrichemicals, and pharmaceuticals are organobromine compounds. 1-Bromo-3-chloropropane, 1-bromoethylbenzene, and 1-bromoalkanes are prepared by the antimarkovnikov addition of HBr to alkenes. Ethidium bromide
    Ethidium bromide

    Ethidium bromide is an intercalation agent commonly used as a fluorescent tag in molecular biology laboratories for techniques such as agarose gel electrophoresis....
    , EtBr, is used as a DNA
    DNA

    Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
     stain in gel electrophoresis
    Gel electrophoresis

    Gel electrophoresis is a technique used for the separation of DNA , RNA , or protein molecules using an electric current applied to a gel matrix....
    .
  • High refractive index
    Refractive index

    The refractive index of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light is reduced inside the medium. For example, typical soda-lime glass has a refractive index of 1.5, which means that in glass, light travels at times the speed of light in a vacuum....
     compounds
  • Water purification
    Water purification

    This article discusses large scale, municipal water purification. For portable/emergency water purification, see Portable water purification.Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemical and biological contaminants from raw water....
     compounds, Disinfectants
  • Potassium bromide is used in some photographic developers to inhibit the formation of fog (undesired reduction of silver).
  • Vapor is used as the second step in sensitizing daguerreotype
    Daguerreotype

    A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor....
     plates to be developed under Mercury (Hg) vapor. Bromine acts as an accelerator to the light sensitivity of the previously iodized plate.


Biological role

Bromine has no known role in human health, but organobromine compounds do occur naturally. Marine organisms are the main source of organobromine compounds. In 1999 over 1600 compounds were identified. The most abundant one is methyl bromide with a estimate amount of 56000 metric tons produced by marine algae. The essential oil of the Hawaiian alga Asparagopsis taxiformis consists of 80% methyl bromide. A famous example for a bromine containing organic compound which is used by humans for a long time being Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple

Tyrian purple , also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple-red dye which was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians in the city of Tyre, Lebanon....
. The brominated indigo is produced by a medium-sized predatory sea snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
, the marine
Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology....
 gastropod Murex brandaris. It took until 1909 before the organobromine nature of the compound was discovered by Paul Friedländer
Paul Friedländer (chemist)

Paul Friedl?nder was a Germany chemist.Friedl?nder studied chemistry in University of K?nigsberg, University of Strasbourg and University of Munich where he assisted Adolf von Baeyer....
. Most organobromine compounds in nature arise via the action of vanadium bromoperoxidase
Vanadium bromoperoxidase

Vanadium bromoperoxidase is a haloperoxidase, used to synthesize halogenated organic compounds associated with defense and pigmentation in seaweeds and algai....
.

Safety

Elemental bromine is toxic and causes burns
Irritant

Irritant may refer to:* Something that causes irritation.* Irritant , a psychedelic trance album* Irritant , a United Kingdom rock musical group...
. As an oxidizing agent, it is incompatible with most organic and inorganic compounds. Care needs to taken when transporting bromine; it is commonly carried in steel tanks lined with lead, supported by strong metal frames.

When certain ionic compounds containing bromine are mixed with potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and an acidic substance, they will form a pale brown cloud of bromine gas. This gas smells like bleach and is very irritating to the mucus membranes. Upon exposure, one should move to fresh air immediately. If symptoms arise, medical attention is needed.

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