Chlorine dioxide, or ClO 2 , is an inorganic compound of the chemical element Cl (chlorine) with the chemical element O (oxygen). In this article, we will consider this substance in great detail, and also find out where it is used, how it is obtained in laboratories and industry, how it acts on the body.
What is dioxide? The difference between dioxide and oxide
Many students are lost at the sight of the word “dioxide,” because in a science such as chemistry, this concept is already a little outdated. The word "dioxide" can still be found in textbooks, books and on the Internet, but some schools have stopped explaining what it is.
So, we all know what oxide is. An oxide is a compound of oxygen (O) with any other less electronegative chemical element. ClO 2 is also an oxide. Dioxide is usually called a compound in which there are two O atoms. The prefix "di" in the word "dioxide" means "two."
If you hear the word "dioxide", then there are two oxygen atoms in this compound. This will help you write down the chemical formula of the compound correctly.
Physical properties of the substance
Chlorine dioxide is a gaseous substance that has a characteristic odor, as well as red-yellow color. But at temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, the substance changes its state of aggregation and turns into a red-brown liquid. It explodes when heated. It dissolves very well and quickly in water. It mixes very well and dissolves in some organic solvents such as acetic and sulfuric acids. The melting point of the substance is -59 degrees Celsius, and its boiling point is only 9.7 degrees Celsius.
Laboratory production
To date, they use only one way to obtain chlorine dioxide in the laboratory - by reacting potassium chlorate (KClO 3 ) with oxalic acid, which has the formula H 2 C 2 O 4 . ClO 2 is released as a result of this reaction, as well as water and sodium oxalate.
However, ClO 2 can be obtained in another way. There is a special installation for this. The chlorine dioxide plant is a useful scientific model. Such an installation comprises a control unit, a reactor, pumps for transferring various reagents to the reactor, as well as various valves and valves. To obtain ClO 2 , sulfuric acid, solutions of sodium chloride and sodium chlorate are used. The result is a solution of chlorine dioxide.
Industrial production
Scientists have learned to produce ClO 2 in an industrial way. To do this, produce a reduction reaction in which sodium chlorate is reduced with sulfur dioxide. As a result of the reaction, chlorine dioxide is released, the production of which we have achieved, as well as sodium hydrosulfate.
Chemical properties of the substance
Chlorine dioxide has several important chemical properties. ClO 2 is an acid oxide (it exhibits acidic properties and also forms acidic acids). When chlorine dioxide dissolves in water, a disproportionation reaction occurs, that is, acids such as chloric and chloride are formed. If chlorine oxide itself explodes in the light, then its solutions are quite stable in the dark, but do not explode in the light, but decompose very slowly.
ClO 2 in many reactions behaves like an oxidizing agent of medium strength, reacts with very many compounds of organic chemistry.
Application
Chlorine dioxide, the use of which is quite common around the world, is now the most popular. Most often, this substance acts as a bleach. Chlorine oxide is used, in particular, for the bleaching of materials such as paper, flour, etc.
In addition, the substance ClO 2 is considered by chemists to be one of the most powerful antimicrobial agents in the world. That is why it is very often used for sterilization, as well as disinfection of various materials. It kills pathogens by oxidation, due to the fact that it is an average oxidizing agent. Chlorine dioxide, the use of which due to its acidic property has increased, is now an indispensable substance.
This substance is indispensable in industry precisely because there are quite few substances that disinfect materials economically and environmentally friendly. ClO 2 disinfection is absolutely safe for our environment. To this day, gaseous as well as liquid Cl is used to sterilize and disinfect water. But recently, due to environmental problems, they use the safest disinfectant - chlorine dioxide. Unlike the pure substance of chlorine, the ClO 2 known to us does not enter into the chlorination reaction with other substances and chemical elements.
Water disinfected with chlorine can not only be drunk, but also used to wash skin areas. But chlorine dioxide helped solve this problem: it is completely safe, since it does not participate in the chlorination reaction.
The action of chlorine dioxide on the body
Chlorine dioxide, its effect on the body has been studied by scientists for several decades. Now this chemical is actively used in the food industry, as an additive E926. Unfortunately, many E supplements are very harmful, and little is known to ordinary people, consumers of products. Some additives, however, are harmless, but there are especially dangerous ones. Chlorine dioxide can be put in the middle: it is harmful to the human body, undesirable, but this chemical substance does not have strong side effects on the human body, unlike the popular monosodium glutamate.
When eating food containing this supplement, a cough may appear, sometimes quite strong and prolonged, irritation of the mucous membranes, asthmatic attacks. If this substance enters the respiratory tract, lung irritation may occur.
Chlorine dioxide is a rather interesting substance that scientists have been studying for many centuries. It is indispensable in industry, especially in food, is environmentally friendly and safe (of course, only with proper use).