Editing Halogenation (section)

{{Short description|Chemical reaction which adds one or more halogen elements to a compound}}
{{redirect|Fluorination|the addition of fluoride to drinking water|Water fluoridation}}
{{for|the addition of chlorine, hypochlorite, etc. to drinking water|Water chlorination}}

In [[chemistry]], '''halogenation''' is a [[chemical reaction]] which introduces one or more [[halogen]]s into a [[chemical compound]]. [[Halide]]-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of [[polymers]], [[drugs]].<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9780470771723.ch3|chapter=Formation of Carbon-Halogen Bonds|title=Halides, Pseudo-Halides and Azides: Part 2 (1983)|year=1983|last1=Hudlicky|first1=Milos|last2=Hudlicky|first2=Tomas|pages=1021–1172|isbn=9780470771723|editor1=S. Patai|editor2=Z. Rappoport|series=PATAI's Chemistry of Functional Groups}}</ref> This kind of conversion is in fact so common that a comprehensive overview is challenging. This article mainly deals with halogenation using elemental halogens ({{chem2|[[Fluorine|F2]], [[Chlorine|Cl2]], [[Bromine|Br2]], [[Iodine|I2]]}}). Halides are also commonly introduced using salts of the halides and halogen acids.{{cln|reason=What on this Earth is "halogen acids"???|date=July 2023}} Many specialized [[reagent]]s exist for introducing halogens into diverse [[Substrate (chemistry)|substrates]], e.g. [[thionyl chloride]].