Dichloramine (IUPAC name: ''Azonous dichloride'') is a reactive

inorganic compound An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...

with the

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

. It is one of the three

chloramines Chloramines refer to derivatives of ammonia and organic amines wherein one or more N−H bonds have been replaced by N−Cl bonds. Two classes of compounds are considered: inorganic chloramines and organic chloramines. Chloramines are the most wi ...

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

, the others being monochloramine () and

nitrogen trichloride Nitrogen trichloride, also known as trichloramine, is the chemical compound with the formula . This yellow, oily, and explosive liquid is most commonly encountered as a product of chemical reactions between ammonia-derivatives and chlorine (for ex ...

(). This yellow gas is unstable and reacts with many materials. It is formed by a reaction between

and

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

sodium hypochlorite Sodium hypochlorite is an alkaline inorganic chemical compound with the formula (also written as NaClO). It is commonly known in a dilute aqueous solution as bleach or chlorine bleach. It is the sodium salt of hypochlorous acid, consisting of ...

. It is a byproduct formed during the synthesis of monochloramine and nitrogen trichloride.

Synthesis

Dichloramine can be prepared by a reaction between monochloramine and

: :

Reactions

Dichloramine reacts with the

hydroxide ion Hydroxide is a polyatomic ion, diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually Self-ionization ...

, which can be present in

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

or comes from water molecules, to yield

nitroxyl Nitroxyl (common name) or azanone (IUPAC name) is the chemical compound HNO. It is well known in the gas phase. Nitroxyl can be formed as a short-lived intermediate in solution. Its conjugate base, NO−, the nitroxide anion, is the reduced form o ...

and the

chloride ion The term chloride refers to a compound or molecule that contains either a chlorine anion (), which is a negatively charged chlorine atom, or a non-charged chlorine atom covalently bonded to the rest of the molecule by a single bond (). The pro ...

References

{{Nitrogen compounds Inorganic amines Inorganic chlorine compounds Nitrogen halides Gases with color