Group 13 elements aluminum

Self-Test 1.14B Account for the fact that the two Group 13 elements aluminum and gallium have approximately the same ionization energies. 

Thallium is the heaviest member of the Group 13 elements. Aluminum is also a member of that group, and its chemistry is dominated by the +3 oxidation state. Thallium, however, is found most usually in... 

The in-V compounds combine the elements of Group HI (aluminum, gallium, indium) with those of Group V (phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth). As can be imagined, a wide variety of compounds can be produced which, in addition to the binary materials, also include ternary and even quaternary materials. 

The elements in the lower left portion of the p-block of the periodic table are the main group metals. Although the most important metals of technological society are transition metals from the d block, three main group metals, aluminum, lead, and tin, have considerable technological importance. 

One of the first published cluster compounds of the heavier group 13 elements was the closo-dodecaaluminate K2[Ali2iBui2] 54 (Figure 2.3-10) [79], which possesses an almost undistorted icosahedron of 12 aluminum atoms with short Al-Al distances (268-270 pm). Up until today, it remained the only homonuclear cluster compound of the elements aluminum to indium which, with respect to structure and cluster electron count, is completely analogous to any boronhydride (see Chapters 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.5.2, and 2.1.5.6) (in this case doso-[Bi2H12]2 ). Compound 54 was formed in small quantities by the reaction of di(isobutyl)aluminum chloride with potassium and was isolated as dark red crystals (Figure 2.3-10). 

This particular reaction mechanism belongs to the family of hydrogen-transfer reactions. This pathway implies the direct transfer mechanism between the donor and the acceptor groups. The MPV mechanism is common for main group elements acting as Lewis acids catalysts such as aluminum isopropoxydes or... 

The Third-Group Elements.—The B—F bond has about 63 percent ionic character, B—O 44 percent, B—Cl 22 percent, and so forth. Bor,on forms normal covalent bonds with hydrogen. The aluminum bonds are similar to those of beryllium in ionic character. 

The product in this case is sodium aluminate, a compound that contains the aluminate ion, [Al(OH)4]. Because aluminum oxide reacts with both acids and bases, it is classified as amphoteric. Other main-group elements that form amphoteric oxides are shown in Fig. J.3. As you can see, these elements lie in a diagonal band across the table from beryllium to polonium. The acidic, amphoteric, or basic character of the oxides of the d-block metals depends on their oxidation state (see Chapter 16). 

Here in Group III was a gap between calcium and titanium. Since it occurred under boron, the missing element must resemble boron. This was his eka-boron which he predicted. There was another gap in the same group under aluminum. This element must resemble aluminum, so he called it eka-aluminum. And finally he found another vacant space between arsenic and eka-aluminum, which appeared in the fourth group. Since its position was below the element silicon, he called it eka-silicon. Thus he predicted three undiscovered elements and left it to his chemical contemporaries to verify his prophecies. Not such remarkable guesses after all—at least not to the genius Mendel eff ... 

Aluminum. The second element in group III, aluminum, is an important metal. Its density is only 2.712 g/cm, and it is strong as well as light, and is ductile and malleable. It finds extensive use as a structural metal, especially in airplane construction. 

Figure 7 shows the abundances of the four refractory lithophile elements—aluminum, calcium, scandium, and vanadium—in several groups of undilferentiated meteorites, the Earth s upper mantle and the Sun. The RLE abundances are divided by magnesium and this ratio is then normalized to the same ratio in Cl-chondrites. These (RLE/Mg)N ratios are plotted in Figure 7 (see also Figure 1). The level of refractory element abundances in bulk chondritic meteorites varies by less than a factor of 2. Carbonaceous chondrites have either Cl-chondritic or higher Al/Mg ratios (and other RLE/Mg ratios), while rumurutiites (highly oxidized chondritic meteorites), ordinary chondrites, acapulcoites, and enstatite chondrites are depleted in refractory elements. The (RLE/Mg)N ratio in the mantle of the Earth is within the range of carbonaceous chondrites.

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