Dynamic Ionic Radius of Alkali Metal Ions in Aqueous Solution: a Pulsed-Field Gradient NMR Study

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Dynamic Ionic Radius of Alkali Metal Ions in Aqueous Solution: a Pulsed-Field Gradient NMR Study RSC Advances View Article Online PAPER View Journal | View Issue Dynamic ionic radius of alkali metal ions in aqueous solution: a pulsed-field gradient NMR study† Cite this: RSC Adv.,2021,11,20252 Kikuko Hayamizu, *a Yusuke Chiba b and Tomoyuki Haishic The dynamic behavior of alkali metal ions, Li+,Na+,K+,Rb+ and Cs+ in aqueous solutions is one of the most important topics in solution chemistry. Since these alkali metals contain nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) active nuclei, it is possible to directly measure the diffusion constants of the alkali metal ions using the pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR method. In this paper, the 7Li, 23Na, 87Rb, 133Cs and 1H resonances are observed for diffusion constants in aqueous solution and the solvent H2O. Until now, the values of the diffusion constant have been lacking when discussing hydration effects around alkali metal ions. It is known that the static ionic radius (Rion) increases with increasing the atomic number, and the Received 23rd March 2021 experimental diffusion constants also increase with increasing the atomic number, which is opposite to Accepted 19th May 2021 the Stokes–Einstein (SE) relation. It suggests that alkali metal ions diffuse through a space of 10À6 m DOI: 10.1039/d1ra02301b accompanying the hydrated spheres with a time interval of 10À3 s. For each alkali metal ion, the dynamic Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. rsc.li/rsc-advances ionic radius is evaluated. Introduction neutron diffraction spectroscopy, and belong to macroscopic properties such as viscosity and ionic conductivity. The PFG- The behavior of alkaline salts in aqueous solutions is an NMR method measures positional migration over a space of À important topic in solution chemistry. Hydrated ions in 10 6 m. Although measurements of viscosity and ionic aqueous solutions have been the subject of numerous studies conductivity have been widely conducted, experimental values and fundamental studies have been reviewed.1,2 Various tech- of diffusion constants are limited. This article is licensed under a niques have been continuously used for studies on the hydra- The relationship between the diffusion constant D and the tion of the alkali metal ions, for example, in recent papers, viscosity (h) is known as the Stokes–Einstein (SE) equation: neutron diffraction,3 large-angle X-ray scattering and double- 1 kT Open Access Article. Published on 07 June 2021. Downloaded 9/30/2021 8:03:29 AM. 4 D ¼ ; (1) reference infrared (IR) spectroscopy, oxygen K-edge X-ray crs ph absorption spectroscopy,5 and theoretical approaches.6–8 Most studies are concerned with the short-range effects of the where k is the Boltzmann constant, rs is the Stokes radius of the ff hydration of alkali metal ions. Because these alkali metals di using species, and c is the constant, for which the theoretical include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) active nuclei, the ranges are between 4 and 6 for slip and stick boundary condi- 9 diffusion constants could be measured directly using the tions, respectively. ff ff pulsed-eld gradient (PFG) NMR method. In this paper, the 7Li, The PFG-NMR method can a ord directly the di usion 23Na, 87Rb, 133Cs and 1H resonances were observed for the constants of NMR active nuclei. As D is related to the ionic conductivity via the Nernst–Einstein relation, the experimental diffusion constants of the alkali metal ions and the solvent H2O. The diffusion measurements were performed in a time scale of D values of Li solution electrolytes for Li-ion batteries (LIB) have À + 7 19 11 10 3 s and were very long compared with the X-ray, IR, and been piled up for Li ( Li) and anions ( F, B, and others) in organic solvents.10 Ionic liquids are another class of solution electrolyte and we aInstitute of Applied Physics, Tsukuba University, Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan. have reported temperature-dependent physical constants such E-mail: [email protected] as density, ionic conductivity, h, and D for various ionic liquids bGraduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences and Tsukuba Research Center for and Li salt-doped ionic liquids. D is macroscopic in nature, and Energy, Materials Science (TREMS), University of Tsukuba, Tennodai, Tsukuba 305- each electrolyte component has a different value, which can be 8573, Japan measured independently for an individual nucleus. Experi- cMRTechnology, TCI-B5, Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan mental values of D relate well with the experimental h by the SE † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The Hahn and stimulated ph echo pulse sequences for the PFG NMR. Measuring conditions of the Hahn-PFG relation. The plots of D versus kT/ are always linear and the ff 1H, 7Li, 23Na, 133Ce and those of STE-PFG for 87Rb with short relaxation times. gradients a ord the experimental values of 1/crs. Discussion on – h The Stokes Einstein plot (D versus kT/p ) of pure H2O, and the rations of DLi the constant c and the Stokes radius rs is necessary for practical and DNa with each solvent DH2O. See DOI: 10.1039/d1ra02301b 20252 | RSC Adv.,2021,11,20252–20257 © 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry View Article Online Paper RSC Advances T T systems. Reasonable rs values may be calculated by molecular Table 1 Basic properties and 1 and 2 at 303 K for the nuclei of alkali orbital methods, and the c values were evaluated experimentally metal ions in ionic liquid systems. We have reported the experimental c + Frequency values in the SE relation for the cations, anions and solvated Li b À31 2 Nucleus T1 T2 (MHz) I Q (10 m ) in ionic liquids composed of cations, 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium (EMIm) and N-methyl-N-propyl- 7Li 25 s 5 s 78.45 3/2 À40.1 23 11,12 Na 46 ms 23 ms 53.39 3/2 104 pyrrolidinium (P13). The anions were bis(tri- 39K 64 ms 32 ms 18.68a 3/2 58.5 uoromethanesulfonyl)amide (TFSA) and bis(uorosulfonyl) 87Rb 1.8 ms 1.2 ms 27.85 3/2 133.5 amide (FSA) and the systems were prepared without and with 133Cs 9 s 1.2 s 26.47 7/2 À3.43 1 doping of a Li salt. Using the temperature-dependent values of H(H2O) 3.5 s — 201.85 1/2 — D and h, the plots of D versus k/ph were always linear. From the a Observed by a JEOL ECZ-400 spectrometer at the eld strength of 9.404 b gradient of 1/crs, experimental value of crs was evaluated for T. Nuclear quadrupole moment from Bruker NMR properties of each component. The c value was estimated assuming that the selected isotopes. rs value is the van del Waals radius of the molecular orbital calculation. The approximate c values were 2.4 to 3.1 for cations (EMIm and P ), 2.7 to 3.7 for anions (TFSA and FSA), and 3.5 to 13 ff 4.5 for the Li+ solvated by anions. In the ionic liquid systems, values are important to determine the di usion measuring the c values of the cation are smaller than those of the anion. It conditions. The PFG NMR pulse sequences are shown for the 1 7 23 133 indicates that the experimental measurable values D and h are Hahn echo pulse sequence ( H, Li, Na, and Ce) and the 87 † well explained by the SE relation, and the cr value is a constant stimulated echo pulse sequence ( Rb) in Fig. S1 in ESI. The T1 s ffi 1 7 23 in each system. It is important to note that c is not a universal and T2 values at 303 K are su ciently long for H, Li, Na, and 133 constant. Cs to use the Hahn-echo PFG NMR pulse sequence and the measurements were performed with the PFG strength 1.26 Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. In recent years, alkali metals and alkaline earth metals such À1 as Na+,K+,Mg2+, and Ca2+ have been targeted for next- Tm . The precise measurement details are described in the † 87 + generation energy storage systems from the viewpoint of ESI. Because the T1 and T2 values of Rb were extremely resource conservation. To date, organic solvents have been short, the stimulated echo PFG pulse sequence was used with À1 † 39 widely used in LIBs. The possibility of using aqueous solutions the g value of 10.0 Tm (Fig. S2, ESI ). K belongs to a low-g 39 is being explored for the prevention of volatility, in addition of nuclei and a JEOL ECZ-400 spectrometer can measure the K 39 the usages of polymer and solid electrolytes. Similarly, fuel cell spectra at 18.6 MHz. The T1 and T2 values for K were short technology is important in its contribution to power sources. In (Table 1). Unfortunately, the maximum PFG strength equipped À1 39 1988, diffusion coefficients of Li+,Na+, and Cs+ were observed was 0.3 Tm . Several attempts were made to obtain the K This article is licensed under a ff using steady-state eld gradient spin-echo NMR method in di usion constant for the saturated aqueous solution (3 M), but + aqueous solutions.13 Recently, 1H+, 7Li+, 23Na+ and 133Cs+ a reliable D value for K could not be obtained because of poor diffusion constants were measured in cation-exchange decay of the echo attenuation. The repetition time of every 14 + experiment including relaxation time measurement was set at Open Access Article. Published on 07 June 2021. Downloaded 9/30/2021 8:03:29 AM.
Recommended publications
  • Modeling the Shape of Ions in Pyrite-Type Crystals
    Crystals 2014, 4, 390-403; doi:10.3390/cryst4030390 OPEN ACCESS crystals ISSN 2073-4352 www.mdpi.com/journal/crystals Article Modeling the Shape of Ions in Pyrite-Type Crystals Mario Birkholz IHP, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt (Oder), Germany; E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel.: +49-335-56250 Received: 13 April 2014; in revised form: 22 August 2014 / Accepted: 26 August 2014 / Published: 3 September 2014 Abstract: The geometrical shape of ions in crystals and the concept of ionic radii are re-considered. The re-investigation is motivated by the fact that a spherical modelling is justified for p valence shell ions on cubic lattice sites only. For the majority of point groups, however, the ionic radius must be assumed to be an anisotropic quantity. An appropriate modelling of p valence ions then has to be performed by ellipsoids. The approach is tested for pyrite-structured dichalcogenides MX2, with chalcogen ions X = O, S, Se and Te. The latter are found to exhibit the shape of ellipsoids being compressed along the <111> symmetry axes, with two radii r|| and describing their spatial extension. Based on this ansatz, accurate interatomic M–X distances can be derived and a consistent geometrical model emerges for pyrite-structured compounds. Remarkably, the volumes of chalcogen ions are found to vary only little in different MX2 compounds, suggesting the ionic volume rather than the ionic radius to behave as a crystal-chemical constant. Keywords: ionic radius; ionic shape; bonding distance; ionic volume; pyrite-type compounds; di-chalcogenides; di-oxides; di-sulfides; di-selenides; di-tellurides 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Hydration of the Alkali Metal Ions in Aqueous Solution
    Article pubs.acs.org/IC A Study of the Hydration of the Alkali Metal Ions in Aqueous Solution Johan Mahler̈ and Ingmar Persson* Department of Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7015, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden *S Supporting Information ABSTRACT: The hydration of the alkali metal ions in aqueous solution has been studied by large angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) and double difference infrared spectroscopy (DDIR). The structures of the dimethyl sulfoxide solvated alkali metal ions in solution have been determined to support the studies in aqueous solution. The results of the LAXS and DDIR mea- surements show that the sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium ions all are weakly hydrated with only a single shell of water molecules. The smaller lithium ion is more strongly hydrated, most probably with a second hydration shell present. The influence of the rubidium and cesium ions on the water structure was found to be very weak, and it was not possible to quantify this effect in a reliable way due to insufficient separation of the O−D stretching bands of partially deuterated water bound to these metal ions and the O−D stretching bands of the bulk water. Aqueous solutions of sodium, potassium and cesium iodide and cesium and lithium hydroxide have been studied by LAXS and M−O bond distances have been determined fairly accurately except for lithium. However, the number of water molecules binding to the alkali metal ions is very difficult to determine from the LAXS measurements as the number of distances and the temperature factor are strongly correlated.
    [Show full text]
  • Atomic and Ionic Radii of Elements 1–96 Martinrahm,*[A] Roald Hoffmann,*[A] and N
    DOI:10.1002/chem.201602949 Full Paper & Elemental Radii Atomic and Ionic Radii of Elements 1–96 MartinRahm,*[a] Roald Hoffmann,*[a] and N. W. Ashcroft[b] Abstract: Atomic and cationic radii have been calculated for tive measureofthe sizes of non-interacting atoms, common- the first 96 elements, together with selected anionicradii. ly invoked in the rationalization of chemicalbonding, struc- The metric adopted is the average distance from the nucleus ture, and different properties. Remarkably,the atomic radii where the electron density falls to 0.001 electrons per bohr3, as defined in this way correlate well with van der Waals radii following earlier work by Boyd. Our radii are derived using derived from crystal structures. Arationalizationfor trends relativistic all-electron density functional theory calculations, and exceptionsinthose correlations is provided. close to the basis set limit. They offer asystematic quantita- Introduction cule,[2] but we prefer to follow through with aconsistent pic- ture, one of gauging the density in the atomic groundstate. What is the size of an atom or an ion?This question has been The attractivenessofdefining radii from the electron density anatural one to ask over the centurythat we have had good is that a) the electron density is, at least in principle, an experi- experimental metricinformation on atoms in every form of mental observable,and b) it is the electron density at the out- matter,and (more recently) reliable theory for thesesame ermost regionsofasystem that determines Pauli/exchange/ atoms. And the momentone asks this question one knows same-spinrepulsions, or attractive bondinginteractions, with that there is no unique answer.Anatom or ion coursing down achemical surrounding.
    [Show full text]
  • Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory· UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA'
    LBL-37435 UC-800 Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory· UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA' To be published as a chapter in Frontiers in Nuclear Chemistry, D.D. Sood, Ed., Indian Association of Nuclear Chemists and Allied Scientists, Bombay, India, 1995 Summary of the Properties of the Lanthanide and Actinide Elements G.T. Seaborg and D.E. Hobart June 1995 --- :0 I'T1 ..(") em'"T1 -,o::c oCDm S::III:Z _. (") QI:ZI'T1 r+~(") CD 0 "'0 CD_. -< c.--- CQ. r­ t:Dr- 1 w...... ~ w U1 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract Number DE-AC03-76SF00098 DISCLAIMER This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither the United .States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The Regents of the University of California, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately ()wned rights. Reference he~ein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by its trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 7 Periodic Properties of the Elements Learning Outcomes
    Chapter 7 Periodic Properties of the Elements Learning Outcomes: Explain the meaning of effective nuclear charge, Zeff, and how Zeff depends on nuclear charge and electron configuration. Predict the trends in atomic radii, ionic radii, ionization energy, and electron affinity by using the periodic table. Explain how the radius of an atom changes upon losing electrons to form a cation or gaining electrons to form an anion. Write the electron configurations of ions. Explain how the ionization energy changes as we remove successive electrons, and the jump in ionization energy that occurs when the ionization corresponds to removing a core electron. Explain how irregularities in the periodic trends for electron affinity can be related to electron configuration. Explain the differences in chemical and physical properties of metals and nonmetals, including the basicity of metal oxides and the acidity of nonmetal oxides. Correlate atomic properties, such as ionization energy, with electron configuration, and explain how these relate to the chemical reactivity and physical properties of the alkali and alkaline earth metals (groups 1A and 2A). Write balanced equations for the reactions of the group 1A and 2A metals with water, oxygen, hydrogen, and the halogens. List and explain the unique characteristics of hydrogen. Correlate the atomic properties (such as ionization energy, electron configuration, and electron affinity) of group 6A, 7A, and 8A elements with their chemical reactivity and physical properties. Development of Periodic Table •Dmitri Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer (~1869) independently came to the same conclusion about how elements should be grouped in the periodic table. •Henry Moseley (1913) developed the concept of atomic numbers (the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom) 1 Predictions and the Periodic Table Mendeleev, for instance, predicted the discovery of germanium (which he called eka-silicon) as an element with an atomic weight between that of zinc and arsenic, but with chemical properties similar to those of silicon.
    [Show full text]
  • Actinide Overview
    2 Meet the Presenter… Alena Paulenova Dr. Alena Paulenova is Associate Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Director of the Laboratory of Transuranic Elements at the OSU Radiation Center. She is also Adjunct Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University , a Joint Research faculty with Idaho National Laboratory, Division of Aqueous Separations and Radiochemistry and a member of the INEST Fuel Cycle Core Committee. She received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in 1985 from the Moscow/Kharkov State University. Until 1999, she was a faculty member at the Department of Nuclear Chemistry and Radioecology of Comenius University in Bratislava, then a visiting scientist at Clemson University and Washington State University in Pullman. In 2003 she joined the faculty at OSU as a Coordinator of the Radiochemistry Program at OSU Radiation Center to bring her experience to the task of helping to educate a new generation of radiochemists: http://oregonstate.edu/~paulenoa/. Her research interest has focused on application of radioanalytical and spectroscopic methods to speciation of radionuclides in aqueous and organic solutions and development of separation methods for spent nuclear fuel cycle processing, decontamination and waste minimization. The main efforts of her research group are fundamental studies of the kinetics and thermodynamics of the complexation of metals, primary actinides and fission products, with organic and inorganic ligands and interactions with redox active species, and the effects of radiolysis and hydrolysis in these systems. Contact: (+1) 541-737-7070 E-mail: [email protected]. An Overview of Actinide Chemistry Alena Paulenova National Analytical Management Program (NAMP) U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ionic Radius of No3+
    Journal of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences,Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 147–149, 2002 147 The Ionic Radius of No3+ A. Bilewicz∗ Department of Radiochemistry, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Dorodna 16, 03-195 Warsaw, Poland Received: November 13, 2001; In Final Form: April 30, 2002 259 248 18 5+ Nobelium ( No, T1/2 = 58 min) was produced in bombardment of Cm target with O ions. Next, it was oxi- dised by H5IO6 and loaded together with lanthanide tracers on a chromatographic column filled with cryptomelane 2+ MnO2. In the HNO3 elution curve two peaks are observed. First one is related to the nonoxidized No and the second corresponds to No3+ close to positions of elution peaks of Ho3+ and Y3+. The ionic radius deduced from the elution position of No3+ is to be 89.4 ± 0.7 pm. 1. Introduction to possess interesting ion exchange properties. The cryptome- lane MnO2 phase has a well-defined 2 × 2 tunnel-framed struc- Studies of the heaviest actinides and comparison with the ture with exchangeable hydrogen, alkali, or alkali earth cations.6 properties of lanthanides are interesting because they help to The presence of exchangeable ions in the tunnels requires that understand the influence of relativistic effects on the chemical some of the manganese atoms must be present in oxidation properties. The relativistic effects influence the contraction of states lower than 4. The formulae could be represented by the 3+ lanthanides and actinides ionic radii by two ways: split- IV III 7 HMn7 Mn O16 as postulated by Tsuji and Tamaura.
    [Show full text]
  • UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,018,955 PROCESS of MAKING CALCUM Sureate Winfieldpatterson, W
    w Patented Oct. 29, 1935 2,018,955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,018,955 PROCESS OF MAKING CALCUM surEATE WinfieldPatterson, W. Wilmington,Beckert, Ardentown, Del, assignors and Gordon to Krebs D. Plgment & Color Corporation, Newark, N.J., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application March 27, 1935, serial No. 13.222 16 Claims. (C. 23-122) The present invention relates to processes in or V. M. Goldschmidt's "Geochemische Verteil which calcium sulphate is precipitated from an ungsgesetze der Elemente" publ. Oslo 1926, Wol. aqueous medium and is particularly character VII page 32, who gives a series of ionic radii of ized by the presence in such medium of an agent, rareThe earth fact elements.that the ionic radii of the positive- called restraining agent, which inhibits or re ions effective in retarding crystal growth are of tards the crystal growth of the precipitated cal the same order of magnitude as that of the cal cium sulphate. cium ion (1.05A) may afford an explanation for Such restraining agents can be used in various their effectiveness in that their incorporation O processes of precipitating calcium sulphate from into the Crystal lattice may in Some manner re an aqueous medium, such as for instance in the sult in a deformation or distortion of the crystal action of a calcium compound upon a Sulphate , thus limiting the rate of growth. Furthermore, radical containing compound such as sulphuric the effective ions are also of high Valency which acid or a soluble sulphate, for instance, calcium may also be a contributing factor in influencing s chloride and sodium sulphate, or calcium nitrate their adsorption on certain faces of the growing and ammonium sulphate, or calcium acetate and potassium sulphate or magnesium sulphate, or crystal or actual incorporation in the crystal calcium hydrosulphid and zinc sulphate, in gen lattice.This explanation of.
    [Show full text]
  • Practice Periodic Table Review Name______
    Practice Periodic Table Review Name_________________ 1. An electron will emit energy in quanta when its 8. The elements in Group 2 are classified as energy state changes from 4p to A) metals B) metalloids A) 5s B) 5p C) 3s D) 6p C) nonmetals D) noble gases 2. Which electron configuration represents an atom 9. Which element has chemical properties that are in the excited state? most similar to the chemical properties of sodium? A) 1s22s22p63s2 B) 1s22s22p63s1 A) beryllium B) calcium C) 1s22s22p6 D) 1s22s22p53s2 C) lithium D) magnesium 3. In the electron-dot symbol, the dots represent 10. Which statement explains why sulfur is classified electrons located in as a Group 16 element? A) A sulfur atom has 6 valence electrons. B) A sulfur atom has 16 neutrons. A) s sublevels, only C) Sulfur is a yellow solid at STP. B) p sublevels, only D) Sulfur reacts with most metals. C) s and p sublevels, only D) s, p, and d sublevels 11. As the elements in Group 15 are considered in order of increasing atomic number, which 4. What is the highest principal quantum number sequence in properties occurs? assigned to an electron in an atom of zinc in the ground state? A) nonmetal ® metalloid ® metal A) 1 B) 2 C) 5 D) 4 B) metalloid ® metal ® nonmetal C) metal ® metalloid ® nonmetal 5. Which orbital notation represents a noble gas in D) metal ® nonmetal ® metalloid the ground state? 12. At STP, which element is a good conductor of A) B) electricity? A) chlorine B) iodine C) C) silver D) sulfur D) 13.
    [Show full text]
  • Python Module Index 79
    mendeleev Documentation Release 0.9.0 Lukasz Mentel Sep 04, 2021 CONTENTS 1 Getting started 3 1.1 Overview.................................................3 1.2 Contributing...............................................3 1.3 Citing...................................................3 1.4 Related projects.............................................4 1.5 Funding..................................................4 2 Installation 5 3 Tutorials 7 3.1 Quick start................................................7 3.2 Bulk data access............................................. 14 3.3 Electronic configuration......................................... 21 3.4 Ions.................................................... 23 3.5 Visualizing custom periodic tables.................................... 25 3.6 Advanced visulization tutorial...................................... 27 3.7 Jupyter notebooks............................................ 30 4 Data 31 4.1 Elements................................................. 31 4.2 Isotopes.................................................. 35 5 Electronegativities 37 5.1 Allen................................................... 37 5.2 Allred and Rochow............................................ 38 5.3 Cottrell and Sutton............................................ 38 5.4 Ghosh................................................... 38 5.5 Gordy................................................... 39 5.6 Li and Xue................................................ 39 5.7 Martynov and Batsanov........................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Chemical Complexities of Plutonium David L
    The Chemical Complexities of Plutonium David L. Clark ew people have ever seen plutonium, and far fewer have actually handled or manipu- lated it. Yet this manmade element has arguably altered the course of civilization as Fmuch as copper, bronze, iron, or steel. Within five years of its synthesis, the primary use of plutonium was for the release of nuclear energy in weapons of mass destruction, and it seemed that the new element might lead the human race to the brink of self-annihilation. But instead, plutonium has become a stabilizing agent in global politics, forcing the human race to govern itself without resorting to nuclear war. Never before has a simple chemical element had such a profound impact on the consciousness of mankind. Plutonium has had a similarly humbling impact in the more circumscribed arena of science. Incredibly, it displays physicochemical behaviors that are among the most complex of any element in the periodic table. The pure element exhibits seven distinct crystal phases, is highly reactive, and is known to form compounds, complexes, or alloys with virtually every other element. Molten plutonium is highly corrosive and will slowly react with its container, causing difficulties for handling. When elemental plutonium reacts to give up its valence electrons, it can form a wide variety of positively charged ions with the ability to form up to twelve chemical bonds to other ions or molecules in solution. The element can exhibit five oxidation states, and under certain chemical conditions, four different oxidation states can be present in appreciable amounts simultaneously! No other element displays such a complex chemistry.
    [Show full text]
  • Trace-Element Geochemistry, Lecture Notes 4
    Lecture 4 A. Ionic Model for Bonding and the Role of Ionic Radii in Understanding the Partitioning of Trace Elements Between Phases The usefulness of ionic radii in Trace Element Geochemistry was recognized by Goldschmidt who formulated the Goldschmidt Rules to describe partitioning of trace elements between solids and melt: (1) If two ions have similar ionic radii and the same charge, the smaller ion will be preferentially concentrated in the solid; (2) If two ions have similar radii but different charges, the ion with the higher charge will be preferentially concentrated in the solid. These rules originate from a simple ionic model whereby solids (minerals) are viewed as an array of cations and anions with attractive and repulsive forces. The concept of lattice energy, U, is a measure of the forces within an ionic crystal; it is a sum of attractive and repulsive forces. attractive force repulsive force −N | z+z− | Ae2 NBe2 U = + r rn Where N = Avogrados number Z = charge on ion A = Madelung constant which reflects the geometric arrangement of anions and cations e = charge on electron r = interionic distance between cation and anion B and n are constants, n = 8 to 10. 1 dU Since = 0 when r = ro, with ro being the most favorable interionic distance. dr −N | z+z− | Ae2 1 U = (1 − ) [see Figure 4] ro n 1/r8, proportional to Repulsive Force E=0 1/r8 - 1/ Lattice Energy r -1/r, proportional to Attractive Force at r=r0 Inter-ion distance (r) U is a minimum Figure 4: A plot of the two terms in the Lattice Energy equation, i.e.
    [Show full text]