Hypobromous acid is an inorganic compound with chemical formula of . It is a weak, unstable acid. It is mainly produced and handled in an aqueous solution. It is generated both biologically and commercially as a disinfectant. Salts of hypobromite are rarely isolated as solids.
Addition of bromine to water gives hypobromous acid and hydrobromic acid (HBr(aq)) via a disproportionation reaction.
HOBr + HBr
In nature, hypobromous acid is produced by bromoperoxidases, which are enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of bromide with hydrogen peroxide:[1] [2]
Hypobromous acid has a pKa of 8.65 and is therefore only partially dissociated in water at pH 7. Like the acid, hypobromite salts are unstable and undergo a slow disproportionation reaction to yield the respective bromate and bromide salts.
Its chemical and physical properties are similar to those of other hypohalites.
HOBr is used as a bleach, an oxidizer, a deodorant, and a disinfectant, due to its ability to kill the cells of many pathogens. The compound is generated in warm-blooded vertebrate organisms especially by eosinophils, which produce it by the action of eosinophil peroxidase, an enzyme which preferentially uses bromide.[3] Bromide is also used in hot tubs and spas as a germicidal agent, using the action of an oxidizing agent to generate hypobromite in a similar fashion to the peroxidase in eosinophils.It is especially effective when used in combination with its congener, hypochlorous acid.