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I'm trying to investigate the homolysis of bromine for an IB Chemistry (high school) Internal Assessment. To do so, I need a UV lamp capable of splitting diatomic bromine into bromine radicals. Would a handheld UV flashlight off of Amazon (395 nm) or a 4W UV tube (265 nm) work to do this?

I'm trying to react bromine radicals with methane to produce other gases. I need to produce enough of these gases to create a noticeable change in mass of my bromine sample (0.05 g or more).

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    $\begingroup$ Bromine has a rather high vapour pressure, 50 mg of it will be gone very quickly with a radical reaction or without. This does not sound like a well researched project. Usually not he pupils fault, but his inept teacher's. $\endgroup$ – Karl Dec 3 '15 at 23:47
  • $\begingroup$ If I use 1 mL samples in a dark room, will I see a difference with a UV light? How can I make my experiment work? $\endgroup$ – DefinitelyNotAPlesiosaur Dec 5 '15 at 3:31
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    $\begingroup$ To show that bromine reacts, you should use very litte of it (a drop at most) in an excess of the other educt, and then show how the colour fades as you put on the UV lamp. Find a suitable experiment in a book, and use that. No pupil or even undergrad student is expected to invent a new experiment by himself. That's something for your PhD programme, not for school. As you teacher should know and have told you. Just "trying it out", without extended experimental experience, is bound to fail, possibly in a dangerous way, and you'll have no idea why it failed. $\endgroup$ – Karl Dec 5 '15 at 10:30

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