Question

What are halides? What are some examples of them?

Answer 1

Halides are anions of the Group 17 elements, the halogens.

Explanation:

The halogen elements are diatomic molecules, `X_2`, that can be easily reduced:

`X_2 + 2e^(-) rarr 2X^-`

The anions are the so-called halides: `F^-, Cl^-, Br^-, etc.`

Of course, if you have a negatively charged species, there must be a positively charged species as well to balance the charge, typically a metal cation, `Na^+`, `Mg^(2+)` etc. The best known halide is the stuff you put on your fish and chips :

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Of course, I could broaden my horizons a little bit, and consider organic halides. A halogen atom can be tacked on to an alkyl or hydrocarbyl group to give an organic halide, where the halide takes the place of a hydrogen. With hydrocarbons, this is usually the first step of a synthesis, because once the halogen group is introduced (`Cl` or `Br`), you can start doing selective chemistry on the organic chain.