Oxyhalogen Compounds of Magnesium

When magnesium oxide or hydroxide is dissolved in hypochlorous or hypobromous acid, or its suspension in water treated with chlorine or bromine, or when bleaching-powder suspension in water is heated with magnesium sulphate, the resulting solutions have bleaching properties. These solutions decompose slowly in the cold, and rapidly on heating, to halide and halate. They are often preferred to bleaching powder for bleaching because they are less caustic. Magnesium hypobromite and bromate are produced by electrolysing potassium bromide solution. Magnesium metal dissolves in hypochlorous acid to a relatively stable hypochlorite solution.