Beryllium reactions

When solutions of beryllium salts are brought together with red-violet solutions of quinalizarin [1,2,5,8-tetrahydroxyanthraquinone (I)] in am-moniacal or caustic alkali solution, a blue-violet precipitate or color appears. Although quinalizarin, as a derivative of alizarin, is a lake-forming dyestuff, which produces red to red-violet adsorption compounds with oxyhydrates of aluminum, zirconium, thorium, etc., its beryllium reaction product seems to be a stoichiometrically defined compound rather than an adsorption complex. In conformity with the fact that the blue product contains two atoms of beryllium combined with one molecule of quinalizarin, it seems proper to view the material as a basic beryllium salt with the structure (II) or (Ila) ... 

The rapid fission of a mass of or another heavy nucleus is the principle of the atomic bomb, the energy liberated being the destructive power. For useful energy the reaction has to be moderated this is done in a reactor where moderators such as water, heavy water, graphite, beryllium, etc., reduce the number of neutrons and slow those present to the most useful energies. The heat produced in a reactor is removed by normal heat-exchange methods. The neutrons in a reactor may be used for the formation of new isotopes, e.g. the transuranic elements, further fissile materials ( °Pu from or of the... 

Magnesium fluoride is a by-product of the manufacture of metallic beryllium and uranium. The beryllium or uranium fluorides are intimately mixed with magnesium metal in magnesium fluoride-lined cmcibles. On heating, a Thermite-type reaction takes place to yield the desired metal and Mgp2 (13). Part of the magnesium fluoride produced in this reaction is then used as a lining for the cmcibles used in the process. 

Beryllium has a high x-ray permeabiUty approximately seventeen times greater than that of aluminum. Natural beryUium contains 100% of the Be isotope. The principal isotopes and respective half-life are Be, 0.4 s Be, 53 d Be, 10 5 Be, stable Be, 2.5 x 10 yr. Beryllium can serve as a neutron source through either the (Oi,n) or (n,2n) reactions. Beryllium has alow (9 x 10 ° m°) absorption cross-section and a high (6 x 10 ° m°) scatter cross-section for thermal neutrons making it useful as a moderator and reflector in nuclear reactors (qv). Such appHcation has been limited, however, because of gas-producing reactions and the reactivity of beryUium toward high temperature water. 

Beryllium carbide slowly hydroly2es to beryllium oxide and methane in the presence of atmospheric moisture although months may be requited to complete the reaction. Any carbon contained in beryllium metal is present as the carbide because the solubiUty of carbon in beryllium is extremely low. 

Beryllium Nitride. BeryUium nitride [1304-54-7], Be N2, is prepared by the reaction of metaUic beryUium and ammonia gas at 1100°C. It is a white crystalline material melting at 2200°C with decomposition. The sublimation rate becomes appreciable in a vacuum at 2000°C. Be2N2 is rapidly oxidized by air at 600°C and like the carbide is hydrolyzed by moisture. The oxide forms on beryllium metal in air at elevated temperatures, but in the absence of oxygen, beryllium reacts with nitrogen to form the nitride. When hot pressing mixtures of beryUium nitride and sUicon nitride, Si N, at 1700°C, beryllium sUicon nitride [12265-44-0], BeSiN2, is obtained. BeSiN2 may have appHcation as a ceramic material. 

Beryllium Sulfate. BeiyUium sulfate tetiahydiate [7787-56-6], BeSO TH O, is produced commeicially in a highly purified state by fiactional crystallization from a berylhum sulfate solution obtained by the reaction of berylhum hydroxide and sulfuric acid. The salt is used primarily for the production of berylhum oxide powder for ceramics. Berylhum sulfate chhydrate [14215-00-0], is obtained by heating the tetrahydrate at 92°C. Anhydrous berylhum sulfate [13510-49-1] results on heating the chbydrate in air to 400°C. Decomposition to BeO starts at about 650°C, the rate is accelerated by heating up to 1450°C. At 750°C the vapor pressure of SO over BeSO is 48.7 kPa (365 mm Hg). 

Saltlike Carbides. Almost all carbides of Groups 1—3 of the Periodic Table are saltlike. Beryllium carbide and Al C may be considered as derivatives of methane ion) and most carbides having C2 groups, ie, ions, as derivatives of acetylene. This is supported to some extent by hydrolysis reactions ... 

Beryllium, calcium, boron, and aluminum act in a similar manner. Malonic acid is made from monochloroacetic acid by reaction with potassium cyanide followed by hydrolysis. The acid and the intermediate cyanoacetic acid are used for the synthesis of polymethine dyes, synthetic caffeine, and for the manufacture of diethyl malonate, which is used in the synthesis of barbiturates. Most metals dissolve in aqueous potassium cyanide solutions in the presence of oxygen to form complex cyanides (see Coordination compounds). 

Chemical Reactivity - Reactivity with Water Reacts vigorously as an exothermic reaction. Forms beryllium oxide and hydrochloric acid solution Reactivity with Common Materials Corrodes most metals in the presence of moisture. Flammable and explosive hydrogen gas may collect in confined spaces Stability During Transport Stable Neutralizing Agents for Acids and Caustics Flush with water and rinse with dilute solution of sodium bicarbonate or soda ash Polymerization Not pertinent Inhibitor of Polymerization Not pertinent. 

Anhydrous beryllium halides cannot be obtained from reactions in aqueous solutions because of the formation of hydrates such as [Be(H20)4]F2 and the subsequent hydrolysis which attends attempted dehydration. Thermal decomposition of (NH4)2Bep4 is the best route for BeFr, and BeCl2 is conveniently made from the oxide... 

Reaction of beryllium dialkyls with an excess of alcohol yields the alkoxides Be OR)2. The methoxide and ethoxide are insoluble and... 

Electrons are not only charged, they also have a characteristic physicists call spin. Pairing two electrons by spin, which has two possible values, up or down, confers additional stability. Bei yllium (Be, atomic number 4) has two spin-paired electrons in its second shell that are easily given up in chemical reactions. Beryllium shares this characteristic with other elements in column two, the alkaline earth metals. These atoms also generally form ionic bonds. Boron... 

Beryllium is extracted from the main source mineral, the alumino-silicate beryl, by conversion to the hydroxide and then through either the fluoride or the chloride to the final metal. If the fluoride is used, it is reduced to beryllium by magnesium by a Kroll-type reaction. The raw metal takes the form of pebble and contains much residual halides and magnesium. With the chloride on the other hand, the pure metal is extracted by electrolysis of a mixture of fused beryllium chloride and sodium chloride. The raw beryllium is now dendritic in character, but still contains residual chloride. 

The possible employment of beryllium in nuclear engineering and in the aircraft industry has encouraged considerable investigation into its oxidation characteristics. In particular, behaviour in carbon dioxide up to temperatures of 1 000°C has been extensively studied and it has been shown that up to a temperature of 600°C the formation of beryllium oxide follows a parabolic law but with continued exposure break-away oxidation occurs in a similar fashion to that described for zirconium. The presence of moisture in the carbon dioxide enhances the break-away reaction . It has been suggested that film growth proceeds by cation diffusion and that oxidation takes place at the oxide/air interface. ... 

There is a reaction between beryllium and nitrogen that starts at about 750°C and is appreciable at 850°C, beryllium nitride being formed". The reaction with oxygen is less sluggish and at 900°C in oxygen oxidation proceeds at about twice the rate of nitride formation. Thus when beryllium is heated in air, beryllium nitride forms only a small proportion of the total scale —about 0-75% after 1 h at 1 000°C. 

Discussion. Minute amounts of beryllium may be readily determined spectrophotometrically by reaction under alkaline conditions with 4-nitrobenzeneazo-orcinol. The reagent is yellow in a basic medium in the presence of beryllium the colour changes to reddish-brown. The zone of optimum alkalinity is rather critical and narrow buffering with boric acid increases the reproducibility. Aluminium, up to about 240 mg per 25 mL, has little influence provided an excess of 1 mole of sodium hydroxide is added for each mole of aluminium present. Other elements which might interfere are removed by preliminary treatment with sodium hydroxide solution, but the possible co-precipitation of beryllium must be considered. Zinc interferes very slightly but can be removed by precipitation as sulphide. Copper interferes seriously, even in such small amounts as are soluble in sodium hydroxide solution. The interference of small amounts of copper, nickel, iron and calcium can be prevented by complexing with EDTA and triethanolamine. 

The element with Z = 4 is beryllium (Be), with four electrons. The first three electrons form the configuration ls22s1, like lithium. The fourth electron pairs with the 2s-electron, giving the configuration ls22s2, or more simply [He 2s2 (41. A beryllium atom therefore has a heliumlike core surrounded by a valence shell of two paired electrons. Like lithium—and for the same reason—a Be atom can lose only its valence electrons in chemical reactions. Thus, it loses both 2s-electrons to form a Be2+ ion. 

Aluminum and beryllium have a diagonal relationship. Compare the chemical equations for the reaction of aluminum with aqueous sodium hydroxide to that of beryllium with aqueous sodium hydroxide. 

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