From Hydrogen to Tellurium - BROMINE

Bromine


At number 35 is Bromine with the chemical symbol Br. Another non-metal, Bromine is the first element we have come across that is a liquid at room temperature. It is a red/brown liquid and when heated it boils to produce a red/brown gas at 60°C.

Bromine is in the same group as fluorine and chlorine and is therefore a halogen. Halogens are very reactive, they have space for one more electron in their outer electron shell and are very keen to fill that space by taking an electron from anything that will give them one. In terms of reactivity Bromine is less reactive than fluorine or chlorine but more reactive than iodine which in in the row below it in the table.


Bromine gas has a horrible smell. It is suffocating so not a good idea to have it around. Bromine liquid is corrosive to human tissue. The name Bromine comes from the Greek word Bromos which means stench.


Bromine is extracted from natural brine deposits taken from salt springs.


It is used as a dye, in pesticides and as a flame retardant in plastics.