Ionic compounds electrical conductance

Aqueous solutions of ionic compounds will conduct electricity if positive and negative electrodes are connected to a DC source and inserted into the solution (Figure 7.2). The positive metal ions, cations, slowly migrate to the negative electrode (cathode) and the negative ions, anions, migrate to the positive electrode (anode). 

Why do molten ionic compounds generally conduct electric current well, while molten covalent compounds generally do not ... 

Electrolysis of molten NaCI Just as electrolysis can decompose water into its elements, it also can separate molten sodium chloride into sodium metal and chlorine gas. This process, the only practical way to obtain elemental sodium, is carried out in a chamber called a Down s cell, as shown in Figure 21-18. The electrolyte in the cell is the molten sodium chloride itself. Remember that ionic compounds can conduct electricity only when their ions are free to move, such as when they are dissolved in water or are in the molten state. 

Another physical property of ionic compounds is their tendency to dissolve in water. When they dissolve in water, the solution conducts electricity, as you saw in Figure 4.2. Ionic compounds also conduct electricity in the liquid (melted) state. Any compormd that conducts electricity when melted or dissolved in water is an electrolyte. Therefore, ionic compounds are electrolytes. In order to conduct electricity, ions must be free to move because they must take on or give up electrons. Ionic compormds in the solid state do not conduct electricity because the ions are locked into position. Ionic compormds become good conductors when they melt. This is evidence that the ions are less bormd and free to move in the liquid state. 

Explain why ionic compounds cannot conduct electricity when they are in the solid state. 

Another major difference between ionic and molecular compounds is in their ability to conduct electricity, an ability that depends on the presence of mobile carriers of positive or negative charge. A solid ionic compound cannot conduct electricity because the ions are held in fixed positions. When melted or dissolved in water, the situation is different—the ions are free to move and current can flow. A compound that conducts electricity under these conditions is referred to as an electrolyte. Ionic compounds, to whatever extent they dissolve, are electrolytes in water solution because the ions separate from the crystal and can move about in the solution. Molecules, whether in pure compounds or dissolved in water or any other liquid, have no overall charge and therefore do not carry current they are referred to as nonelectrolytes. 

Bismuth Trichloride. Bismuth(III) chloride is a colodess, crystalline, dehquescent soHd made up of pyramidal molecules (19). The nearest intermolecular Bi—Cl distances are 0.3216 nm and 0.3450 nm. The density of the soHd is 4.75 g/mL and that of the Hquid at 254°C is 3.851 g/mL. The vapor density corresponds to that of the monomeric species. The compound is monomeric in dilute ether solutions, but association occurs at concentrations greater than 0.1 Af. The electrical conductivity of molten BiCl is of the same order of magnitude as that found for ionic substances. 

For a large number of applications involving ceramic materials, electrical conduction behavior is dorninant. In certain oxides, borides (see Boron compounds), nitrides (qv), and carbides (qv), metallic or fast ionic conduction may occur, making these materials useful in thick-film pastes, in fuel cell apphcations (see Fuel cells), or as electrodes for use over a wide temperature range. Superconductivity is also found in special ceramic oxides, and these materials are undergoing intensive research. Other classes of ceramic materials may behave as semiconductors (qv). These materials are used in many specialized apphcations including resistance heating elements and in devices such as rectifiers, photocells, varistors, and thermistors. 

H2SO4.Z2H2O, are known with = 1, 2, 3, 4 (mps 8.5", -39.5". -36.4" and -28.3% respectively). Other compounds in the H2O/SO3 system are H2S2O7 (mp 36") and H2S4O13 (mp 4"). Anhydrous H2SO4 is a remarkable compound with an unusually high dielectric constant, and a very high electrical conductivity which results from the ionic self-dissociation (autoprotolysis) of the compound coupled with a proton-switch mechanism for the rapid... 

The chemical reactions of IF5 have been more extensively and systematically studied because the compound can be handled in glass apparatus and is much less vigorous a reagent than the other pentafluorides. The (very low) electrical conductivity of the pure liquid has been ascribed to slight ionic dissociation according to the equilibrium... 

Answer (a) Ionic compound, so a strong electrolyte, conducts electricity ... 

In contrast to sugar, solid sodium chloride dissolves in water to give a liquid that conducts electricity. Figure 3-19 shows that a solution of NaCl is a good conductor. When an ionic compound dissolves in water, its component cations and anions are free to move about in the solution. Mixing leads to a uniform distribution of Na and Cl ions through the entire solution, with each ion surrounded by a sheath of water molecules as shown in Figure 3-20. 

Recognizing Cause and Effect In a crystal lattice structure, the electrons are held tightly by the ions, which are rigidly held in place by electrostatic attraction. Discuss how this characteristic explains why ionic compounds generally (a) have high melting points and (b) do not conduct electricity in the solid state. 

Thinking Critically Explain how ionic compounds, which do not conduct electricity in the solid form, can conduct electricity when they are in the molten state or dissolved in water. 

When applied to the motion of ions in a crystal, the term drift applies to motion of ions under the influence of an electric field. Although movement of electrons in conduction bands determines conductivity in metals, in ionic compounds it is the motion of ions that determines the electrical condu-ctivity. There are no free or mobile electrons in ionic crystals. The mobility of an ion, ji, is defined as the velocity of the ion in an electric field of unit strength. Intuitively, it seems that the mobility of the ion in a crystal should be related to the diffusion coefficient. This is, in fact, the case, and the relationship is... 

In ionic solids, electrons are held in place around the ions so they don t conduct electricity. However, in aqueous solution and molten state, they do conduct electricity. Electrical conductance of ionic compounds is not due to movement of electrons but to the movement of ions. 

KC1, NaNOs and LiF are ionic solids. Ionic solids don t conduct electricity in the solid state, however, aqueous solutions and molten forms of ionic compounds contain mobile ions so they can conduct electricity Thus, aqueous KC1 and LiF conduct electricity but solid NaN03 doesn t. 

Ionic Compounds (Ex NaCl, BaCl2, KN03) Electrostatic Positive and negative ions - hard and brittle - high melting point - aqueous solutions and molten states conduct electricity... 

Many of the reactions that you will study occur in aqueous solution. Water readily dissolves many ionic compounds as well as some covalent compounds. Ionic compounds that dissolve in water (dissociate) form electrolyte solutions— solutions that conduct electrical current due to the presence of ions. We may classify electrolytes as either strong or weak. Strong electrolytes dissociate (break apart or ionize) completely in solution, while weak electrolytes only partially dissociate. Even though many ionic compounds dissolve in water, many do not. If the attraction of the oppositely charged ions in the solid is greater than the attraction of the water molecules to the ions, then the salt will not dissolve to an appreciable amount. 

A well-known fact of fundamental solution science is that the presence of ions in any solution gives the solution a low electrical resistance and the ability to conduct an electrical current. The absence of ions means that the solution would not be conductive. Thus, solutions of ionic compounds and acids, especially strong acids, have a low electrical resistance and are conductive. This means that if a pair of conductive surfaces are immersed into the solution and connected to an electrical power source, such as a simple battery, a current can be detected flowing in the circuit. Alternatively, if the resistance of the solution between the electrodes were measured (with an ohmmeter), it would be low. Conductivity cells based on this simple design are in common use in nonchromatography applications to determine the quality of deionized water, for example. Deionized water should have no ions dissolved in it and thus should have a very low conductivity. The conductivity detector is based on this simple apparatus. 

Conductivity Metals are good conductors of electricity and heat because electrons can move freely throughout the metallic structure. This freedom of movement is not possible in solid ionic compounds, because the valence electrons are held within the individual ionic bonds in the lattice. 

The concept of impedance microbiology is more than a century old however, it gained its popularity only in the mid-seventies. Impedance is based on the changes in conductance in a medium due to the microbial breakdown of inert substrates into electrically charged ionic compounds and acidic by-products. The detection time, that is, the time necessary for... 

Soluble ionic compounds tend to be strong electrolytes, while alcohols and organic compounds are nonelectrolytes. Remember that classification as a strong electrolyte, weak electrolyte, or nonelectrolyte is somewhat subjective. Freshwater can be either a weak electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte depending on its purity. The important consideration in classifying a substance is to what extent an aqueous solution of the substance will conduct electricity. 

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