Which nonmetal exists as a diatomic solid

Remember that an element exhibits a positive oxidation state when combined with a more electronegative element and that it exhibits a negative oxidation state when combined with a less electronegative element. The first member of each nonmetal group exhibits different behaviors, in many respects, from the other group members.

The reasons for this include smaller size, greater ionization energy, and most important the fact that the first member of each group has only four valence orbitals one 2 s and three 2 p available for bonding, whereas other group members have empty d orbitals in their valence shells, making possible five, six, or even more bonds around the central atom.

This is primarily a function of the smaller size of the first member of each group, which allows better overlap of atomic orbitals. The variety of oxidation states displayed by most of the nonmetals means that many of their chemical reactions involve changes in oxidation state through oxidation-reduction reactions.

There are five general aspects of the oxidation-reduction chemistry:. With the exception of most of the noble gases, all nonmetals form compounds with oxygen, yielding covalent oxides.

Most of these oxides are acidic, that is, they react with water to form oxyacids. Recall from the acid-base chapter that an oxyacid is an acid consisting of hydrogen, oxygen, and some other element.

There are three characteristics of these acidic oxides:. The binary hydrogen compounds of the nonmetals also exhibit an acidic behavior in water, although only HCl, HBr, and HI are strong acids. The acid strength of the nonmetal hydrogen compounds increases from left to right across a period and down a group. Water, H 2 O, is also a weaker acid than is hydrogen sulfide, H 2 S , which is weaker than is hydrogen selenide, H 2 Se.

Weaker acidic character implies greater basic character. The structures of the nonmetals differ dramatically from those of metals. Metals crystallize in closely packed arrays that do not contain molecules or covalent bonds. Nonmetal structures contain covalent bonds, and many nonmetals consist of individual molecules.

The electrons in nonmetals are localized in covalent bonds, whereas in a metal, there is delocalization of the electrons throughout the solid. The noble gases are all monatomic, whereas the other nonmetal gases—hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, and chlorine—normally exist as the diatomic molecules H 2, N 2 , O 2 , F 2 , and Cl 2. The other halogens are also diatomic; Br 2 is a liquid and I 2 exists as a solid under normal conditions.

The changes in state as one moves down the halogen family offer excellent examples of the increasing strength of intermolecular London forces with increasing molecular mass and increasing polarizability.

Oxygen has two allotropes: O 2 , dioxygen, and O 3 , ozone. Phosphorus has three common allotropes, commonly referred to by their colors: white, red, and black. Sulfur has several allotropes. There are also many carbon allotropes. Most people know of diamond, graphite, and charcoal, but fewer people know of the recent discovery of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene.

Descriptions of the physical properties of three nonmetals that are characteristic of molecular solids follow. Carbon occurs in the uncombined elemental state in many forms, such as diamond, graphite, charcoal, coke, carbon black, graphene, and fullerene. Each atom forms four single bonds to four other atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron sp 3 hybridization ; this makes the diamond a giant molecule. These properties relate to its structure, which consists of layers of carbon atoms, with each atom surrounded by three other carbon atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement.

Each p orbital is perpendicular to the plane of carbon atoms. London dispersion forces hold the layers together. To learn more, see the discussion of these weak forces in the chapter on liquids and solids.

Other forms of elemental carbon include carbon black, charcoal, and coke. Carbon black is an amorphous form of carbon prepared by the incomplete combustion of natural gas, CH 4. It is possible to produce charcoal and coke by heating wood and coal, respectively, at high temperatures in the absence of air. Recently, new forms of elemental carbon molecules have been identified in the soot generated by a smoky flame and in the vapor produced when graphite is heated to very high temperatures in a vacuum or in helium.

One of these new forms, first isolated by Professor Richard Smalley and coworkers at Rice University, consists of icosahedral soccer-ball-shaped molecules that contain 60 carbon atoms, C Graphene and carbon nanotubes are two recently discovered allotropes of carbon. Both of the forms bear some relationship to graphite. Graphene is a very strong, lightweight, and efficient conductor of heat and electricity discovered in As in graphite, the carbon atoms form a layer of six-membered rings with sp 2 -hybridized carbon atoms at the corners.

Resonance stabilizes the system and leads to its conductivity. Unlike graphite, there is no stacking of the layers to give a three-dimensional structure. The simplest procedure for preparing graphene is to use a piece of adhesive tape to remove a single layer of graphene from the surface of a piece of graphite. This method works because there are only weak London dispersion forces between the layers in graphite.

Alternative methods are to deposit a single layer of carbon atoms on the surface of some other material ruthenium, iridium, or copper or to synthesize it at the surface of silicon carbide via the sublimation of silicon. There currently are no commercial applications of graphene. However, its unusual properties, such as high electron mobility and thermal conductivity, should make it suitable for the manufacture of many advanced electronic devices and for thermal management applications.

Carbon nanotubes are carbon allotropes, which have a cylindrical structure. Like graphite and graphene, nanotubes consist of rings of sp 2 -hybridized carbon atoms.

Unlike graphite and graphene, which occur in layers, the layers wrap into a tube and bond together to produce a stable structure. The walls of the tube may be one atom or multiple atoms thick. Carbon nanotubes are extremely strong materials that are harder than diamond. Depending upon the shape of the nanotube, it may be a conductor or semiconductor. For some applications, the conducting form is preferable, whereas other applications utilize the semiconducting form.

The basis for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes is the generation of carbon atoms in a vacuum. It is possible to produce carbon atoms by an electrical discharge through graphite, vaporization of graphite with a laser, and the decomposition of a carbon compound.

The strength of carbon nanotubes will eventually lead to some of their most exciting applications, as a thread produced from several nanotubes will support enormous weight. However, the current applications only employ bulk nanotubes.

The addition of nanotubes to polymers improves the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the bulk material. There are currently nanotubes in some bicycle parts, skis, baseball bats, fishing rods, and surfboards. Br2 s bromine. Study guides. Chemistry 20 cards. How does a buffer work. What happens in a neutralization reaction. What is a conjugate acid-base pair. Why is water considered to be neutral. Physics 20 cards. Which term explains whether an object's velocity has increased or decreased over time.

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