Question

Complete the following equation
$Xe{F_2} + {H_2}O \to $

Answer 1

Hint: We have to know when a water molecule is present in the reaction as one of the reactants, we call the reaction a hydrolysis reaction. We have to know the term “hydrolysis” is derived from Greek word hydro which means water and lysis means to break (or) to bind. In simple words, water is used to break down the chemical bonds that are found between specific substances.

Complete answer:
In the hint part, we saw that water is used to break down the chemical bonds that are found between specific substances. We have to know that hydrolysis indicates the reaction with water. In the chemical reaction, when a molecule of water is added, the compound is separated into two pieces. The general hydrolysis reaction takes place when salt that contains acid which is weak (or) base which is weak (or) both is water soluble.
When xenon difluoride reacts with water, the products formed are xenon, hydrofluoric acid along with evolution of gaseous oxygen.
We can write the complete equation as,
$Xe{F_2}\left( s \right) + {H_2}O\left( l \right) \to Xe\left( g \right) + HF\left( {aq} \right) + {O_2}\left( g \right)$
We can see that the above reaction is unbalanced. We need two moles of $Xe{F_2}$ in the reactant side, two moles of $Xe$ and two moles of $HF$ in the product side to make the equation a balanced one.
We can write the balanced chemical equation as,
$2Xe{F_2}\left( s \right) + 2{H_2}O\left( l \right) \to 2Xe\left( g \right) + 4HF\left( {aq} \right) + {O_2}\left( g \right)$

Note:
We should not get confused between hydrolysis and condensation. We have to know the hydrolysis reaction is the reverse of the condensation reaction. In a condensation reaction, two small molecules are combined to form a large molecule and water molecule is given out whereas in hydrolysis reaction, a large molecule is combined with a molecule of water to break down to small, separate elements (or) compounds.