Copper electronic structure

Homogeneous alloys of metals with atoms of similar radius are substitutional alloys. For example, in brass, zinc atoms readily replace copper atoms in the crystalline lattice, because they are nearly the same size (Fig. 16.41). However, the presence of the substituted atoms changes the lattice parameters and distorts the local electronic structure. This distortion lowers the electrical and thermal conductivity of the host metal, but it also increases hardness and strength. Coinage alloys are usually substitutional alloys. They are selected for durability—a coin must last for at least 3 years—and electrical resistance so that genuine coins can be identified by vending machines. 

Copper, iron, and aluminum are three common metals in modem society. Copper wires carry the electricity that powers most appliances, including the lamp by which you may be reading. The chair in which you are sitting may have an iron frame, and you may be sipping a soft drink from an aluminum can. The properties that allow metals to be used for such a wide range of products can be traced to the principles of bonding and electronic structure. 

Ouammou A, Mouallem-Bahout M, Pena O, Halet JF, SaiUard JY, Carel C (1995) Physical properties and electronic structure of ternary barium copper sulfides. J Solid State Chem 117 73-79... 

Sojka, Z., Che, M. and Giamello, E. (1997) EPR investigation of the electronic structure of mononuclear copper(I) nitric oxide adduct formed upon low-pressure adsorption of NO onto Cu/ZSM-5 zeolite, J. Phys. Chem. B, 101, 4831. 

A series of copper(II) complexes with ring-substituted phen-ligands have been synthesized and their molecular structural and electronic structural properties have been investigated.246 Each structure ((280) r = 0.72, (281) r = 0.81, (282) r = 0.88, (283) r = 0.83, and (284) r = 0.68) is characterized by a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal arrangement of ligands around copper. 

With respect to the thermodynamic stability of metal clusters, there is a plethora of results which support the spherical Jellium model for the alkalis as well as for other metals, like copper. This appears to be the case for cluster reactivity, at least for etching reactions, where electronic structure dominates reactivity and minor anomalies are attributable to geometric influence. These cases, however, illustrate a situation where significant addition or diminution of valence electron density occurs via loss or gain of metal atoms. A small molecule, like carbon monoxide,... 

These three structures are the predominant structures of metals, the exceptions being found mainly in such heavy metals as plutonium. Table 6.1 shows the structure in a sequence of the Periodic Groups, and gives a value of the distance of closest approach of two atoms in the metal. This latter may be viewed as representing the atomic size if the atoms are treated as hard spheres. Alternatively it may be treated as an inter-nuclear distance which is determined by the electronic structure of the metal atoms. In the free-electron model of metals, the structure is described as an ordered array of metallic ions immersed in a continuum of free or unbound electrons. A comparison of the ionic radius with the inter-nuclear distance shows that some metals, such as the alkali metals are empty i.e. the ions are small compared with the hard sphere model, while some such as copper are full with the ionic radius being close to the inter-nuclear distance in the metal. A consideration of ionic radii will be made later in the ionic structures of oxides. 

Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase. Essentially, these observations support a stepwise one-electron model again. Interestingly, the oxidation state of copper does not change during the catalytic reaction, i.e. the sole kinetic role of the histidine coordinated metal center is to alter the electronic structures of the substrate and 02 in order to facilitate the electron transfer process between them. 

EPR. The EPR spectrum of 67d, which has a central Cu(II) ion was reported, and found to be similar to those discussed above for the symmetrical 48 and copper pc indicating that the peripheral functionalization does not affect the electronic structure of the central Cu(II). 

The structures of metal-complex dyes, which must exhibit a high degree of stability during synthesis and application, is limited to certain elements in the first transition series, notably copper, chromium, iron, cobalt and nickel. The remaining members of the transition series form relatively unstable chelated complexes. The following description of the influence of electronic structure, however, is applicable to all members of the series. 

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