Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Dichloramine

Chemical compound

Dichloramine (IUPAC name: Azonous dichloride) is a reactive inorganic compound with the chemical formula N H Cl2. It is one of the three chloramines of ammonia, the others being monochloramine (NH2Cl) and nitrogen trichloride (NCl3). This yellow gas is unstable and reacts with many materials. It is formed by a reaction between ammonia and chlorine or sodium hypochlorite. It is a byproduct formed during the synthesis of monochloramine and nitrogen trichloride.

01Synthesis

Dichloramine can be prepared by a reaction between monochloramine and chlorine or sodium hypochlorite, which forms hydrogen chloride as a byproduct:

NH2Cl + Cl2 → NHCl2 + HCl

It also occurs as a reaction between urea in urine and hypochlorite:

4 HClO + CO(NH2)2 → CO2 + 3 H2O + 2 NHCl2

02Reactions

Dichloramine reacts with the hydroxide ion, which can be present in water or comes from water molecules, to yield nitroxyl and the chloride ion.

Watch videos about DichloramineExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Dichloramine, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.