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Hydrogen bromide

physical science Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Hydrogen bromide is a special kind of substance. It is an inorganic compound made of hydrogen and bromine.

HBr Dipole Moment
HBr Dipole Moment

You cannot see it because it is a colorless gas. When this gas meets water, it dissolves. This creates a liquid called hydrobromic acid. At room temperature, this liquid can be very strong. It can hold 68.85% HBr by weight. Some mixtures reach a steady point called an azeotrope. This mixture boils at 123 degrees Celsius.

HBr Dipole Moment
HBr Dipole Moment

Making this substance happens in a few ways. Factories often make it on a large scale. They combine hydrogen and bromine together. They heat the mix to between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius. To help this happen, they use a catalyst. A catalyst is something that helps a reaction work. They often use platinum or asbestos for this job.

Scientists can also make it in a lab. They might use distillation to get it. This involves heating a solution of sodium bromide or potassium bromide with acid.

There are many ways to create the gas in a lab. One way is to react bromine with water and sulfur. This creates hydrogen bromide and sulfur dioxide. Another way uses phosphorous acid and bromine. You can also make it by using tetralin and bromine. Some scientists use a solid called triphenylphosphonium bromide. They heat this in a liquid called xylene. This is a way to make the gas on a small scale.

Hydrogen bromide is very useful in science. It is a reagent used to make bromide compounds. Reagents are substances used to cause a change. It helps make organobromine compounds. These are used to create things like fatty amine derivatives. It can also react with things like dichloromethane. This reaction creates bromochloromethane and dibromomethane. It can even help make allyl bromide. This happens when you treat allyl alcohol with the gas.

We must always treat hydrogen bromide with great care. It is highly corrosive. This means it can eat away at many materials. It can also be dangerous to breathe. If a person inhales the gas, it can cause lung damage.

Sometimes the gas has extra bromine in it. Scientists clean this by using copper turnings. They can also pass the gas through a solution of phenol. This helps keep the hydrogen bromide pure for important work.

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