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Halogens

Halogens

Group 17 elements, known as halogens, are nonmetals. At room temperature, fluorine and chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid, and iodine a solid. Astatine is a highly unstable radioactive element, so currently, most of its properties are unknown due to its short half-life. Tennessine is a synthetic element also predicted to be in this group.

Alkyl Halides

Alkyl Halides

Structural Properties
Alkyl halides are halogen-substituted alkanes wherein one or more hydrogen atoms of an alkane is replaced by a halogen atom such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. The carbon atom in an alkyl halide is bonded to the halogen atom, which is sp3-hybridized and exhibits a tetrahedral shape.
Unlike alkyl halides, compounds in which a halogen atom is bonded to an sp2 -hybridized carbon atom of a carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) are called vinyl halides. Whereas aryl...

ortho–para-Directing Deactivators: Halogens

ortho–para-Directing Deactivators: Halogens

Halogens are ortho–para directors. They are more electronegative than carbon. Therefore, as ring substituents, they can withdraw electrons through the inductive effect and deactivate the aromatic ring towards electrophilic substitution. Halogens also have an electron-donating resonance effect on the ring, which influences the orientation of the incoming electrophile. If an electrophile attacks at the ortho or the para position, the halogen donates electrons and stabilizes the intermediate...

Halogenation of Alkenes

Halogenation of Alkenes

Halogenation is the addition of chlorine or bromine across the double bond in an alkene to yield a vicinal dihalide. The reaction occurs in the presence of inert and non-nucleophilic solvents, such as methylene chloride, chloroform, or carbon tetrachloride.
Consider the bromination of cyclopentene. Molecular bromine is polarized in the proximity of the π electrons of cyclopentene. An electrophilic bromine atom adds across the double bond, forming a cyclic bromonium ion intermediate.

Noble Gases

Noble Gases

The elements in group 18 are noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon). They earned the name “noble” because they were assumed to be nonreactive since they have filled valence shells. In 1962, Dr. Neil Bartlett at the University of British Columbia proved this assumption to be false.

Radical Substitution: Halogenation of Alkanes and Alkyl Substituents

Radical Substitution: Halogenation of Alkanes and Alkyl Substituents

In the presence of heat or light, alkanes react with molecular halogens to form alkyl halides by a substitution reaction called radical halogenation. This reaction has three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination, as seen in the radical chlorination of methane to produce methyl chloride.
In the initiation step of the reaction, the chlorine molecule undergoes homolytic cleavage in the presence of light or heat, forming two highly reactive chlorine radicals. Propagation occurs in two...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 26, 2026

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding

Published on: March 24, 2018

Organic superhalogens.

Santanab Giri¹, Brandon Z Child, Puru Jena

¹Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (USA).

Chemphyschem : a European Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry

|July 25, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers transformed organic molecules into superhalogens with electron affinities greater than chlorine. This discovery in computational chemistry could lead to new synthetic materials and compounds.

Keywords:

aromatic molecules electron affinity electronegative species organic chemistry superhalogens

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Area of Science:

Computational Chemistry
Materials Science

Background:

Organic molecules typically exhibit negative electron affinity.
Superhalogens possess exceptionally high electron affinities, exceeding that of elemental halogens.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the theoretical possibility of creating organic superhalogens.
To explore the potential for designing novel compounds with enhanced electronic properties.

Main Methods:

Utilizing first-principles calculations.
Employing predictive computational modeling.

Main Results:

Demonstrated that organic molecules with negative electron affinity can be converted into superhalogens.
Showcased that these engineered superhalogens exhibit electron affinities significantly higher than chlorine.
Identified that suitable replacement of core and ligand atoms is key to this transformation.

Conclusions:

The theoretical framework for designing organic superhalogens has been established.
This breakthrough offers a pathway for synthesizing novel materials with unique electronic characteristics.
Potential applications span various fields within chemistry and materials science.