Iodine monochloride is an interhalogen compound with the

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

. It is a red-brown

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

that melts near

room temperature Colloquially, "room temperature" is a range of air temperatures that most people prefer for indoor settings. It feels comfortable to a person when they are wearing typical indoor clothing. Human comfort can extend beyond this range depending on ...

. Because of the difference in the

electronegativity Electronegativity, symbolized as , is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons (or electron density) when forming a chemical bond. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the ...

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , ...

and

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the 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 them. Chlorine i ...

, this molecule is highly

polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates *Polar climate, the cli ...

and behaves as a source of I⁺.

Preparation

Iodine monochloride is produced simply by combining the halogens in a 1:1 molar ratio, according to the equation : When

gas is passed through iodine crystals, one observes the brown vapor of iodine monochloride. Dark brown iodine monochloride liquid is collected. Excess chlorine converts iodine monochloride into iodine trichloride in a reversible reaction: :

Polymorphs

has two polymorphs; α-ICl, which exists as black needles (red by transmitted light) with a

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depen ...

of 27.2 °C, and β-ICl, which exists as black platelets (red-brown by transmitted light) with a melting point 13.9 °C.Brisbois, R. G.; Wanke, R. A.; Stubbs, K. A.; Stick, R. V. "Iodine Monochloride" Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, 2004 John Wiley & Sons. In the crystal structures of both polymorphs the molecules are arranged in zigzag chains. β-ICl is monoclinic with the

space group In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of an object in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of an object that leave it uncha ...

P2₁/c.

Reactions and uses

Iodine monochloride is soluble in acids such as HF and

HCl HCL may refer to: Science and medicine * Hairy cell leukemia, an uncommon and slowly progressing B cell leukemia * Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory, from 1961 to 2002, a proton accelerator used for research and development * Hollow-cathode lamp, a s ...

but reacts with pure water to form HCl, iodine, and iodic acid: : + O₂ : + O₂ : ICl is a useful

reagent In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...

. It is used as a source of

electrophilic In chemistry, an electrophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting an electron pair. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids. Most electrophiles are positively charged, have an atom that carr ...

iodine in the synthesis of certain

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

iodides. It also cleaves C–Si bonds. ICl will also add to the

double bond In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betwee ...

alkene In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond. Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic ...

s to give chloro-iodo

alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in wh ...

s. :RCH=CHR′ + ICl → RCH(I)–CH(Cl)R′ When such reactions are conducted in the presence of sodium azide, the iodo-azide RCH(I)–CH(N₃)R′ is obtained. The Wijs solution, iodine monochloride dissolved in acetic acid, is used to determine the iodine value of a substance. It can also be used to prepare iodates, by reaction with a chlorate. Chlorine is released as a byproduct. Iodine monochloride is a

Lewis acid A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any sp ...

that forms 1:1

adducts An adduct (from the Latin ''adductus'', "drawn toward" alternatively, a contraction of "addition product") is a product of a direct addition of two or more distinct molecules, resulting in a single reaction product containing all atoms of all co ...

with Lewis bases such as

dimethylacetamide Dimethylacetamide (DMAc or DMA) is the organic compound with the formula CH3C(O)N(CH3)2. This colorless, water-miscible, high-boiling liquid is commonly used as a polar solvent in organic synthesis. DMA is miscible with most other solvents, altho ...

and

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms ...

References

{{Chlorides Iodine compounds Chlorides Interhalogen compounds Oxidizing agents