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CO (g) + Cl2 (g)<-------> COCl2 (g)

An effective way of destroying phosgene is to heat the compound at 200oC, which decomposes most of the phosgene into CO and Cl2.  Is the above COCl2 formation reaction endothermic or exothermic?


It says in my notes that the reaction is endothermic. but endothermic reactions produce products with energy input and produce reactants with loss of energy.

The reaction above is leaning towards reactants with a gain in energy which should mean it is exothermic? Exothermic reactions produce products with a loss in energy and should thus produce reactants with a gain in energy. Is this correct?

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The reaction as written is exothermic. Thermodynamically, if increase in temperature favors the products, then the reaction is endothermic. Since the reaction as written is the opposite of what is described, this WRITTEN reaction is exothermic. See Le Chatelier's Principle for more explanation.