Part 1 - Introduction to d and f element chemistry Flashcards
basic periodic table facts
- elements are listed in order of atomic number (i.e. number of nuclear protons)
- periods refer to the rows
- groups refer to the columns
- divided into four blocks: s block, p block, d block, f block
d-block elements
- groups 3 to 12
- known as transition metals
- divided into 3d, 4d, 5d, and 6d metals
- all are naturally occurring except for Tc. this element is highly radioactive
- usually find d-block elements as oxides and sulfides in nature
- oxides are preferred for the light and early transition metals
- sulfides are preferred for the heavy and late transition metals
post-transitional elements
- refers to group 12
- they cannot be considered as transition metals because their d-shell is full in the 0 and 2 oxidation states. usually transition metals are partially filled in their most common oxidation states
- has distinct enough properties
f-block elements
- divided into lanthanoids and actinoids
- lanthanoids are 4f elements while actinoids are 5f elements
- in lanthanoids, all are naturally occurring except for Pm, while only Th and U are naturally occurring in actinoids
early transition metals
groups 3 to 7 in the periodic table
late transition metals
groups 8 to 11 in the periodic table
light transition metals
first row of d-block, also known as the 3d elements in the periodic table
heavy transition metals
second and third row of d-block, also known as the 4d and 5d elements in the periodic table
creation of elements
initially, all matter and energy were concentrated at a single point. then, the Big Bang occurred, which lead to the formation of subatomic particles. these subatomic particles formed the lightest element, hydrogen. over time, fusion and related processes within stars allows for other natural elements to be produced. they are released when the star decays explosivley
nuclear forces
- two types: short and strong
- they compensate for the repelling of protons in the nucleus, and hold together the protons within
- these forces are only significant at short distances. at some point, there are too many protons and the nuclear forces are no longer effective
stability and occurrence of actinoids
- only Th and U are natural
- U is the heaviest natural element
- all the other actinoids are the products of nuclear reactions, have short lifetimes, and do not accumulate
iron production
- overall reaction: 2 C + O2 –> 2 CO
Fe2O3 + 3 CO –> 2 Fe + 3 CO2 - carbon is introduced into the top of the furnace with limited amount of air being introduced at the bottom, allowing the formation of carbon monoxide due to the incomplete combustion of carbon dioxide
- carbon monoxide will be useful for this process because it is good at reducing metal oxides
- Fe2O3 is introduced into the top of the furnace, while heat is applied to the bottom of the furnace to create the temperature gradient in which the gradual production of iron will occur
- Fe2O3 will travel down the furnace, where CO reduces it to Fe3O4 at around 500C, then to FeO at 700C, and then to Fe at 1000C
- CaO is used to bring down melting temperature of metal oxides. it reacts with SiO2 to form slag, which is easily removed
- sources: ore provides iron oxide, coke provides carbon, limestone provides CaO
applications of d-block metals
- structural materials: construction, medicine
- materials with useful physical properties: electrical conductors, permanent magnets, Li-ion batteries, superconductors, piezoelectric materials, ruby laser
- catalysis: haber-bosch process, H2SO4 production, Pt/Rh catalysts in cars, Pt/Rh/Pd catalysts for organic reactions, Ti/Zr polymerization catalysts
- medicine: Pt anticancer drugs, Tc imaging, Au arthritis drugs
how do lanthanoids usually exist?
- they usually exist as phosphates
- monazite, LnPO4, which contains small amounts of Th
- bastenite, LnCO3F, which contains mainly the earliest lanthanoids
recovery process of lanthanoids
1) Monazite is subject to treatment with sodium hydroxide
2) the precipitated oxide is then treated with acid, leaving the Th oxide behind as a solid [ThO2]
why was it hard to find lanthanoids as pure substances?
the lanthanoid III ions have similar chemical properties, making them difficult to separate
lanthanoid separation
- ion exchange chromatography
- EDTA is used since it has a strong affinity for lanthanoids
- EDTA will form a stable complex with the lanthanoids: [Ln(EDTA)]-
- there will be equilibrium between Ln3+ and [Ln(EDTA)]- complex
- the smaller the lanthanoid ion, the stronger the binding will be to EDTA
- more strongly-binded cations will elute first because it can pass through the column quickly
- very slow process, inefficient, expensive
2014 Nobel prize in physics
- lanthanoid application
- developed blue LEDs
- lead to the creation of red and green LEDs
- more importantly, it lead to the creation of white LEDs. blue light and phosphorus emitting yellow were mixed for us to get what appears as white
- can be used for displays
magnetic properties of lanthanoids
- these magnetic properties exist because of the several unpaired electrons in the valence shell of lanthanoids
- permanent magnet generator and tower magnet in wind turbine use Nd. wind turbines would only be possible with this lanthanoid
- using lanthanoids in wind turbines takes up a lot of energy because the lanthanoids must be purified first
rare earths production/lanthanoid production
- china is the world’s main producer of lanthanoids
- because of tensions between china and the west, the west are always trying to look for new ways to produce lanthanoids
occurrence and recovery of uranium
- U is found as U3O8 (i.e. pitchblende), and can be extracted by treatment with acid: U3O8 + H2SO4 –> [UO2]SO4
- UO2 is uraninite
- uranium has many impurities as a result of the decay processes. its many isotopes are unstable and subjective to radioactive decaying processes. when the isotopes decay, they get transformed into other elements, resulting in the impurities present in uranium
- uranium can be separated from other impurities by ion exchange
- uranium is recovered from aqueous solutions as U3O8 (i.e. yellow cake)
3 types of radioactive decay processes
alpha radiation, beta radiation, gamma radiation
alpha radiation/alpha particle
- attracted towards negative electrode, indicating the presence of positive charged particles
- mass number of 4, charge of +2
- therefore, when an element is undergoing alpha radiation or emitting an alpha particle, it’s mass number will decrease by 4. since the substance looses 2 positive particles, it will become the element that has an atomic number 2 less than the starting element
beta radiation/beta particles
- opposite of alpha particles
- attracted toward positive electrode, indication the presence of negative charged particles
- beta particles emit electrons but these electrons come from when the nuclei split into a proton and electron
- since the nuclei splits, the atomic number will increase by 1. the atomic mass stays the same.
gamma particles
these particles are neutral
uranium enrichment
- uranium is used in nuclear power generation
- includes U-235 and U-238. they only differ in the number of their neutrons
- because of the splitting that occurs in U-235, the concentration of this isotope needs to be increased. the most common enrichment method is the centrifuge process
what happens when U-235 absorbs a neutron?
when U-235 atom absorbs a neutron, it looses stability, causing nuclear fission (i.e. it splits into two nuclei). the nuclear power generation utilizes the thermal energy emitted at this time. this process emits 2 neutrons. the neutrons emitted from this fission process can be used to multiply the neutrons
what happens when U-238 absorbs a neutron?
when U-238 atom absorbs a neutron, it does not split. however, U-238 changes into plutonium 239
uranium enrichment process
1) heat is used to get rid of nitrate, and obtain the form of NO2: UO22 –> UO3 + NO + NO2 + O2
2) UO3 is reduced to UO2: UO3 +H2 –> UO2 + H2O
3) UO2 + 4HF –> UF4 + 2H2O
4) UF4 + F2 –> UF6. this product is used for enrichment
- UF6 is a volatile material
- centrifugation or semipermeable membranes can be used to separate the 235-UF6 and 238-UF8 isotopes
thermal diffusion
- uses the transfer of heat across a thin liquid or gas to accomplish isotope separation
- exploits the fact that the lighter 235-U gas molecules will diffuse toward the hot surface, while the heavier 238-U gas molecules will diffuse toward a cold surface
- process abandoned for gaseous diffusion
electromagnetic isotope separation process (EMIS)
- electromagnetic separation process
- metallic uranium is vaporized and then ionized to positively charged ions
- these ions are accelerated and deflected by magnetic fields on to their respective target
gaseous diffusion
- technology used to produced enriched uranium by forcing UF6 through semi-permeable membranes
- produces slight separation between molecules containing 235-U and 238-U
different uranium enrichment processes
thermal diffusion, electromagnetic isotope separation process, gaseous diffusion, centrifuge enrichment process
centrifuge enrichment process
- modern process
- rotor spins at extremely high speeds in the centrifuge
- this powerful centrifuge force causes the UF6 gas to be pushed toward the rotor walls
- at this time, UF6 with a higher proportion of 238-U is pushed outward, while UF6 with a higher proportion of 235-U tends to gather around the center
- UF6 gas in the centre is collected and processed into enriched uranium
- inefficient. has to be done multiple times and at once
solution of Schrodinger equation
- wave function
- ¥ = radial function*angular function
- depends on 3 quantum numbers: n, l, ml
- this solution is not unique. rather, it belongs to a family of solutions that can be distinguished and are reliant on the 3 quantum numbers
- this solution is only possible for hydrogen-like atoms. there is no possible analytical solutions for atoms/ions with more than one electron