Carbonyl chloride (COCl2\text{COCl}_2COCl2), commonly known as phosgene, is an extremely toxic gas used in industrial chemical synthesis.
Carbonyl chloride is synthesized by reacting carbon monoxide with chlorine gas:
CO(g)+Cl2(g)⇌COCl2(g)ΔH=−108 kJ/mol \text{CO}(\text{g}) + \text{Cl}_2(\text{g}) \rightleftharpoons \text{COCl}_2(\text{g}) \quad \Delta H = -108\text{ kJ/mol} CO(g)+Cl2(g)⇌COCl2(g)ΔH=−108 kJ/molExplain why only a small yield of carbonyl chloride is obtained when the reaction is carried out at high temperatures.
Predict and explain how the equilibrium yield of carbonyl chloride will change if the reaction pressure is increased.
Carbonyl chloride reacts rapidly with water vapour to produce hydrochloric acid (HCl\text{HCl}HCl) and carbon dioxide. Write a balanced chemical equation for this hydrolysis reaction.
The diagram below shows the displayed formula of carbonyl chloride:
Draw a dot and cross diagram to show the arrangement of all the outer electrons in a molecule of carbonyl chloride.
