Bromine is a toxic vapor to breathe but a very fun element to work with. We had questions about the polarity of bromine (B2). Is br2 polar or nonpolar? So, we decided to answer that and tell you facts about Bromine you may never hear of. So read carefully.
Is Br2 polar or nonpolar?
Br2 is nonpolar. It has all the properties of a nonpolar substance. I think most readers know what nonpolar means since you asked the question in the first place. But for those who don’t know what it means and those who have a slight idea, I am going to explain it simply.
What is the polarity of molecules?
There are three types of bonding between atoms. chose are Covalent bonds, Ionic bonds, and metallic bonds. Polarity divides covalent bonds into two groups. They go by polar covalent bonds and nonpolar covalent bonds.
Some covalent bonds left small positive and negative charges on atoms. That is how a bond becomes polar. Oxygen, Nitrogen, and ionizable groups tend to make polar bonds. The best example of a polar molecule is the water (H2O) molecule. Oxygen-hydrogen bond (O-H) in a water molecule has a positively charged hydrogen end and a negatively charged oxygen end.
But that’s not the case for every covalent bond. Carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond is not polar. We see a lot of compounds with a C-H bond in organic chemistry.
The reason behind this is electronegativity. The definition is the tendency of an atom to attract the bonding electrons and make covalent bonds. If a high electronegative and a low electronegative covalent bond (like H2O), electron pairs attract more toward the high electronegative atom. It gets a negative charge and the other atom get a positive charge. The electronegativity of carbon and hydrogen is very close so, the C-H bond is not a polar one.
Br2 or any other substance has a set of properties because it is polar or nonpolar. Solubility is one property of them. Polar substances are more soluble in polar substances. Hydrochloric acid is a prime example (HCL in water). The same goes for nonpolar substances. We learn many nonpolar solvents like hexane in organic chemistry.
Some other properties are worth mentioning here. Polar molecules have stronger electrostatic attraction and have higher melting and boiling points. Most polar molecules have metal atoms so, they tend to have ionic bonds.
How is Br2 nonpolar
First, understand what Br2 molecules are. It is two bromine atoms making a covalent bond. It is a common characteristic among 17th group elements in the periodic table. F2, Cl2, and I2 are examples. Answering our questions is very easy now. Br-Br bond should be nonpolar. It is bromine atoms on both ends so there is no electronegativity difference. So, Br2 is nonpolar.
With that in mind, we can look at some properties of bromine and how its polarity affects those.
Interesting facts about nonpolar Br2 and its polar compounds
Bromine and other 17th group elements are called Halogens. The name Halogen is derived from Greek. ‘Halo’ means ‘salt’ and ‘gen’ means formation in Greek. Hence ‘salt former’. With atomic number 35, bromine is the 3rd heaviest halogen. Bromine is a liquid at room temperature but evaporates quickly when it is open to the air.
Pure bromine is highly reactive and does not exist in nature. Sodium bromide (NaBr) and potassium bromide (KBr) are the common bromine compounds in nature. Bromine comes in sealed glass tubes or bottles to prevent any reaction and evaporation.
Bromine should be handled carefully and gas masks or proper ventilation is compulsory. It is 1.5 times less toxic than chlorine. But liquid bromine is corrosive to humans and vapor can harm eyes and troat. Bromine vapor is not something to inhalation.
Bromine has a scary beauty. It is a dark brown liquid. Vapor is amber. Bromine is a heavy element so the vapor is denser than air. That is why when you pour bromine vapor is going down. Bromine is soluble in water, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, acetic acid, and aliphatic alcohol because it is a nonpolar substance. The melting and boiling temperatures of bromine (-7.20C and 580C) are very low.
Uses of nonpolar Br2
Bromide salt was used for beverages and medicine in the early 20th century. It has sedative effects and it is useful against seizures. However, bromine is very toxic. Its toxicity even got a name, Bromism. 2% of admissions to a psychiatric hospital were because of bromide salt. So, the US remove it from medicine.
Bromine has many other uses. It is useful for agricultural chemicals, dyestuffs, and insecticides. Bromine compounds are mainly used in flame retardants. Pests and nematodes in soils can be destroyed using bromine compounds such as Allyl bromide. Bromine was a compulsory element in chemical applications back then but now we have better and more secure alternatives.
Common nonpolar compounds
Oxygen
Oxygen is 2nd most abundant element on earth. Three types of oxygen exist in the earth’s atmosphere. Atomic oxygen(O), molecular oxygen(O2), and Ozone(O3). The most abundant one of them is O2 which is a diatomic molecule. O2 is nonpolar just like Br2 but oxygen and hydrogen make water which is polar.
Benzene
Benzene(C6H6) is a must in organic chemistry. C-H and C-C bonds in benzene are nonpolar. Benzene symbolizes by a hexagon with three lines parallel to three sides. German chemist August Kekulé came up with this shape after one of his dreams. He saw a snake bite its tail. Benzene is a high-volume produced chemically. It is widely used to make other chemicals such as plastics, nylon, resins, and synthetic fibers.
Conclusion
Br2 is a diatomic nonpolar molecule. It has a very low melting point and a boiling point also it dissolves in other nonpolar solvents because of nonpolarity. Bromine had a lot of uses in the past but now those numbers are shrinking because of the toxicity of bromine and inventions of better alternatives.
I think your question is answered right now. You can check our other articles to gain more chemistry knowledge.
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