Beryllium solubilities

The hydroxide of lithium, although soluble in water, is a weak base owing to the great attraction between the Li" and OH ions (p. 74) the hydroxide of beryllium is really a neutral, insoluble... 

These are halides formed by highly electropositive elements (for example those of Groups I and II, except for beryllium and lithium). They have ionic lattices, are non-volatile solids, and conduct when molten they are usually soluble in polar solvents in which they produce conducting solutions, indicating the presence of ions. 

Beryllium fluoride is hygroscopic and highly soluble in water, although its dissolution rate is slow. FluoroberyUates can be readily prepared by crystallization or precipitation from aqueous solution. Compounds containing the BeP ion are the most readily obtained, though compounds containing other fluoroberyUate ions can also be obtained, eg, NH BeF, depending upon conditions. 

Beryllium Oxalate. BeryUium oxalate trihydrate [15771 -43-4], BeC204 -3H20, is obtained by evaporating a solution of beryUium hydroxide or oxide carbonate in a slight excess of oxaHc acid. The compound is very soluble in water. Beryllium oxalate is important for the preparation of ultrapure beryllium hydroxide by thermal decomposition above 320°C. The latter is frequentiy used as a standard for spectrographic analysis of beryUium compounds. 

Discussion. Beryllium forms an acetylacetone complex, which is soluble in chloroform, and yields an absorption maximum at 295 nm. The excess of acetylacetone in the chloroform solution may be removed by rapid washing with O.lM-sodium hydroxide solution. It is advisable to treat the solution containing up to 10 g of Be with up to 10 mL of 2 per cent EDTA solution the latter will mask up to 1 mg of Fe, Al, Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ag, Ce, and U. 

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 complex fluoride process consists of roasting beryl with Na2[SiF ] (or NajfFeFg]) at 700-750°C and leaching the product with water to extract the soluble beryllium fluorides. A flow diagram summarizing this process is given in Scheme 2. 

Sodium beryllium fluoride (Na2BeF4) is water-soluble and sodium aluminum fluoride (Na,AlF6) is water-insoluble. A part of the silicon volatilizes off as silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4), while the other part remains in the residue as silicon dioxide (Si02). Fluorination of silicon is unnecessary and it would be economical to recover all of it as silica. This is accomplished by using soda ash, i.e., sodium carbonate (Na2C03) in the reaction mixture ... 

As with their beryllium and magnesium counterparts, the zinc alkyl derivatives [TpRR ]ZnR and [BpBut]ZnR are soluble in hydrocarbon... 

In solvents that have donor properties, solubility leads to complex formation to give species such as S A1C13 (where S is a solvent molecule). Beryllium chloride is soluble in solvents such as alcohols, ether, and pyridine, but slightly soluble in benzene. 

Between pH values of ca. 6 and 12 aqueous solutions hold very little dissolved beryllium because of the low solubility of Be(OH)2. When the pH is raised above 12, the hydroxide begins to dissolve with the formation of, first, Be(OH)3 and then, at even higher pH values, Be(OH) (52). The presence of these species in strongly alkaline solutions was confirmed by means of solvent extraction experiments (90) and infrared spectroscopy (31). A speciation diagram is shown in Fig. 7, which was constructed using the values of log /33 = 18.8 and log /34 = 18.6 critically selected from Table III. The diagram illustrates clearly the precipitation and dissolution of Be(OH)2. 

Complexes of beryllium with 1,2-dihydroxybenzene (catechol) and its more soluble sulfonate derivatives (188, 198, 251-256) have been investigated with particular reference to their possible use as antidotes for beryllium poisoning. 

There is little hazard to the aqueous environment, as beryllium compounds are scarcely soluble in the pH range of natural waters. 

The metallic properties increase down any column and towards the left in any row on the periodic table. One important metallic property is that metal oxides are base anhydrides. A base anhydride will produce a base in water. These are not oxidation-reduction reactions. Many metal oxides are too insoluble for them to produce any significant amount of base. However, most metal oxides, even those that are not soluble in water, will behave as bases to acids. A few metal oxides, and their hydroxides, are amphoteric. Amphoteric means they may behave either as a base or as an acid. Amphoterism is important for aluminum, beryllium, and zinc. Complications occur whenever the oxidation number of the metal exceeds +4 as in the oxides that tend to be acidic. 

Preparation. The ores are converted to an acid-soluble form by fusion chemical processes to obtain beryllium hydroxide or oxide and then beryllium chloride or fluoride are then applied, followed by electrolysis in the melt. 

Magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide are not very soluble. They are strong bases, however, because the small amount that does dissolve dissociates almost completely into ions. Beryllium oxide is a weak base. 

Lithium, sodium, beryllium, magnesium, calcium, and radium are all made industrially by the electrolysis of their molten chlorides. These salts are all soluble in water, but aqueous solutions are not used for the electrolytic process. Explain why. 

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