And for chlorine dioxide, mix one part chlorine gas with two parts of oxygen. In addition, we should not be misled by the fact that chlorine and chlorine dioxide share a word in common. Hydrogen is in both water and in hydrogen cyanide. The latter can be a deadly poison. It's this difference that explains the superior environmental performance of chlorine dioxide in papermaking.
Chlorine has the capacity to take in two electrons, whereas chlorine dioxide can absorb five.
Aromatic compounds have atoms arranged in rings, and they may have other atoms, such as chlorine, attached to these rings. Within the group of chlorinated aromatics, which can be toxic to some organisms, are the infamous dioxins. Chlorine dioxide's behavior as a bleaching agent is quite dissimilar. Instead of combining with the aromatic rings, chlorine dioxide breaks these rings apart. In addition, as the use of chlorine dioxide increases, the generation of chlorinated organics falls dramatically.