Beryllium bromide is the

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 ...

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 ...

BeBr₂. It is very

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption (chemistry), absorption or adsorption from the surrounding Natural environment, environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water mol ...

and dissolves well 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 ...

. The cation, which is relevant to BeBr₂, is characterized by the highest known

charge density In electromagnetism, charge density is the amount of electric charge per unit length, surface area, or volume. Volume charge density (symbolized by the Greek letter ρ) is the quantity of charge per unit volume, measured in the SI system in co ...

(Z/r = 6.45), making it one of the hardest cations and a very strong

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 ...

Preparation and reactions

It can be prepared by reacting

beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, hard, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with ...

metal with elemental

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

at temperatures of 500 °C to 700 °C: : When the oxidation is conducted on an ether suspension, one obtains colorless dietherate: : The same dietherate is obtained by suspending beryllium dibromide in diethyl ether: : This ether ligand can be displaced by other

Lewis base 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 ...

s.is ether ligand can be displaced by other

s. Beryllium bromide hydrolyzes slowly in water: BeBr₂ + 2 H₂O → 2 HBr + Be(OH)₂

Structure

Two forms ( polymorphs) of BeBr₂ are known. Both structures consist of tetrahedral Be²⁺ centers interconnected by doubly bridging bromide ligands. One form consist of edge-sharing polytetrahedra. The other form resembles

zinc iodide Zinc iodide is the inorganic compound with the formula ZnI2. It exists both in anhydrous form and as a dihydrate. Both are white and readily absorb water from the atmosphere. It has no major application. Preparation It can be prepared by the dire ...

with interconnected

adamantane Adamantane is an organic compound with formula C10H16 or, more descriptively, (CH)4(CH2)6. Adamantane molecules can be described as the fusion of three cyclohexane rings. The molecule is both rigid and virtually stress-free. Adamantane is the mo ...

-like cages.

Safety

Beryllium compounds are toxic if inhaled or ingested.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beryllium Bromide Beryllium compounds Bromides Alkaline earth metal halides Inorganic polymers