Halogen pure halogen with a smaller interhalogen such as . All interhalogens except can be produced by directly combining pure halogens in various conditions. Interhalogens are typically more reactive than all diatomic halogen molecules except F because interhalogen bonds are weaker. However, the chemical properties of interhalogens are still roughly the same as those of diatomic halogens. Many interhalogens consist of one or more atoms of fluorine bonding to a heavier halogen. Chlorine can bond with up to 3 fluorine atoms, bromine can bond with up to five fluorine atoms, and iodine can bond with up to seven fluorine atoms. Most
Chlorine "σ" molecular orbital. The colour fades at low temperatures, so that solid chlorine at −195 °C is almost colourless. Like solid bromine and iodine, solid chlorine crystallises in the orthorhombic crystal system, in a layered lattice of Cl molecules. The Cl–Cl distance is 198 pm (close to the gaseous Cl–Cl distance of 199 pm) and the Cl···Cl distance between molecules is 332 pm within a layer and 382 pm between layers (compare the van der Waals radius of chlorine, 180 pm). This structure means that chlorine is a very poor conductor of electricity, and indeed its conductivity is so low