Tetrachloride refers to a chemical compound that contains four chlorine atoms bonded to a central atom, usually carbon or silicon. It is also known as tetrachloro-whatever, where whatever represents the central atom (e.g., tetrachlorosilane). Tetrachlorides are highly reactive and can be produced by reacting chlorine with organic compounds containing multiple bromines or iodines to replace one or more of these atoms with chlorine atoms, forming a tetrahalide ion.