Iodine trichloride is an
interhalogen compound of
iodine 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 ...
. It is bright yellow but upon time and exposure to light it turns red due to the presence of elemental iodine. In the solid state is present as a planar
dimer I
2Cl
6, with two bridging Cl atoms.
It can be prepared by reacting iodine with an excess of liquid chlorine at −70 °C. In the molten state it is conductive, which may indicate dissociation:
:I
2Cl
6 +
Iodine trichloride can be created by heating a mixture of liquid iodine and chlorine gas to 105 °C.
It is an
oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxi ...
, capable of causing fire on contact with organic materials.
References
Iodine compounds
Chlorides
Interhalogen compounds
Oxidizing agents
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