section_path: Chemistry and compounds/Binary compounds/Halides
section_name: Halides
paragraph_text: Halides
  
  The binary ferrous and ferric halides are well-known. The ferrous halides typically arise from treating iron metal with the corresponding hydrohalic acid to give the corresponding hydrated salts.
  
  Iron reacts with fluorine, chlorine, and bromine to give the corresponding ferric halides, ferric chloride being the most common.
  
  Ferric iodide is an exception, being thermodynamically unstable due to the oxidizing power of Fe and the high reducing power of I:
  
  Ferric iodide, a black solid, is not stable in ordinary conditions, but can be prepared through the reaction of iron pentacarbonyl with iodine and carbon monoxide in the presence of hexane and light at the temperature of −20 °C, with oxygen and water excluded. Complexes of ferric iodide with some soft bases are known to be stable compounds.