Methane shape

Figure 6.7 Methane shape factors cp and 6 using a propane MBWR-32 reference calculated using several equations of state and correlations.

An interesting point is that infrared absorptions that are symmetry-forbidden and hence that do not appear in the spectrum of the gaseous molecule may appear when that molecule is adsorbed. Thus Sheppard and Yates [74] found that normally forbidden bands could be detected in the case of methane and hydrogen adsorbed on glass this meant that there was a decrease in molecular symmetry. In the case of the methane, it appeared from the band shapes that some reduction in rotational degrees of freedom had occurred. Figure XVII-16 shows the IR spectrum for a physisorbed H2 system, and Refs. 69 and 75 give the IR spectra for adsorbed N2 (on Ni) and O2 (in a zeolite), respectively. 

Methane, CH4, for example, has a central carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms and the shape is a regular tetrahedron with a H—C—H bond angle of 109°28, exactly that calculated. Electrons in a lone pair , a pair of electrons not used in bonding, occupy a larger fraction of space adjacent to their parent atom since they are under the influence of one nucleus, unlike bonding pairs of electrons which are under the influence of two nuclei. Thus, whenever a lone pair is present some distortion of the essential shape occurs. 

Water ammonia and methane share the common feature of an approximately tetra hedral arrangement of four electron pairs Because we describe the shape of a molecule according to the positions of its atoms rather than the disposition of its electron pairs however water is said to be bent and ammonia is trigonal pyramidal... 

The cryptophane is typical of the chiral resolution of methane derivatives (eg, CHFClBr) (146) and the basket-shaped host of Figure 23d exhibits extremely high enantioselectivity for various peptides (144). 

Although the conventional mass spectra of the five C- nitro derivatives of indazole are nearly identical, the corresponding metastable peak shapes associated with the loss of NO-can be used to differentiate the five isomers (790MS114). The protonation and ethylation occurring in a methane chemical ionization source have been studied for a variety of aromatic amines, including indazoles (80OMS144). As in solution (Section 4.04.2.1.3), the N-2 atom is the more basic and the more nucleophilic (Scheme 5). 

The models of Matranga, Myers and Glandt [22] and Tan and Gubbins [23] for supercritical methane adsorption on carbon using a slit shaped pore have shown the importance of pore width on adsorbate density. An estimate of the pore width distribution has been recognized as a valuable tool in evaluating adsorbents. Several methods have been reported for obtaining pore size distributions, (PSDs), some of which are discussed below. 

Mcntasty el al. [35] and others [13, 36] have measured methane uptakes on zeolites. These materials, such as the 4A, 5A and 13X zeolites, have methane uptakes which are lower than would be predicted using the above relationship. This suggests that either the zeolite cavity is more attractive to 77 K nitrogen than a carbon pore, or methane at 298 K, 3.4 MPa, is attracted more to a carbon pore than a zeolite. The latter proposition is supported by the modeling of Cracknel et al. [37, 38], who show that methane densities in silica cavities will be lower than for the equivalent size parallel slit shaped pore of their model carbon. Results reported by Ventura [39] for silica xerogels lead to a similar conclusion. Thus, porous silica adsorbents with equivalent nitrogen derived micropore volumes to carbons adsorb and deliver less methane. For delivery of 150 V./V a silica based adsorbent would requne a micropore volume in excess of 0.70 ml per ml of packed vessel volume. 

As useful as molecular models are, they are limited in that they only show the location of the atoms and the space they occupy. Another important dimension to molecular structure is its electron distribution. We introduced electrostatic potential maps in Section 1.5 as a way of illustrating charge distribution and will continue to use them throughout the text. Figure 1.6(d) shows the electrostatic potential map of methane. Its overall shape is similar to the volume occupied by the space-filling model. The most electron-rich regions are closer to carbon and the most electron-poor ones are closer to the hydrogens. 

Figure 7-56. Influence on vessel shape on the explosion data of methane. By permission, Bartknect, W., Explosions, 2nd Ed. (1980), Springer-Verlag [54].

Eagles T. E., McClung R. E. D. Rotational diffusion of spherical top molecules in liquids and gases. IV. Semiclassical theory and applications to the v3 and v4 band shapes of methane in high pressure gas mixtures, J. Chem. Phys. 61, 4070-82 (1974). 

Methane, CH4, has four bonding pairs on the central atom. To be as far apart as possible, the four pairs must take up a tetrahedral arrangement around the C atom. Because the electron arrangement is tetrahedral and an H atom is attached to each bonding pair, we expect the molecule to be tetrahedral (see 1), with bond angles of 109.5°. Thar is the shape found experimentally. 

It is also interesting to examine the global gas dynamic structure of upward propagating flames. Figure 3.1.6 gives an example of the global velocity field for the lean limit methane flame in the flame coordinates. The velocity distributions for all near limit flames studied share certain features. The central part of the bubble-shaped flame is... 

The shape of the stretch rate distribution curve for the lean limit propane flame, shown in Figure 3.1.9b, is very similar. However, for this flame, the estimated contribution of the curvature is more important than with the methane flame, reaching about 40% of the maximum stretch rate. 

Flame shape images and traces extracted from the high-speed schlieren movie (5000 frames/s) of a stoichiometric methane/air flame going through a tulip inversion while propagating in a square cross-section (38.1 mm on the side) closed tube. 

A lean methane/air flame propagating downward in a tube closed above. The tube is of 51mm diameter, (a) Self-light images of the flame (b) traces of the flame shape at 55 frames/s. (Adapted from Jarosinski, Strehlow, R.A., and Azarbarzin, A., Nineteenth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp. 1549-1555,1982.)... 

Instantaneous images obtained in a turbulent premixed V-shaped flame configuration, methane and air in stoichiometric proportions. (Reproduced from Kobayashi, H., Tamura, T., Maruta, K., Niioka, T, and Williams, F. A., Proc. Combust. Inst., 26,389,1996. With permission. Figure 2, p. 291, copyright Combustion Institute.)... 

Methane is the simplest molecule with a tetrahedral shape, but many molecules contain atoms with tetrahedral geometry. Because tetrahedral geometry is so prevalent in chemistry, it is important to be able to visualize the shape of a tetrahedron. 

Having introduced methane and the tetrahedron, we now begin a systematic coverage of the VSEPR model and molecular shapes. The valence shell electron pair repulsion model assumes that electron-electron repulsion determines the arrangement of valence electrons around each inner atom. This is accomplished by positioning electron pairs as far apart as possible. Figure 9-12 shows the optimal arrangements for two electron pairs (linear),... 

Figure 9-16 shows the molecular shapes of methane, ammonia, and water, all of which have hydrogen ligands bonded to an inner atom. These molecules have different numbers of ligands, but they all have the same steric number. 

Any hybrid orbital is named from the atomic valence orbitals from which It Is constmcted. To match the geometry of methane, we need four orbitals that point at the comers of a tetrahedron. We construct this set from one s orbital and three p orbitals, so the hybrids are called s p hybrid orbitais. Figure 10-8a shows the detailed shape of an s p hybrid orbital. For the sake of convenience and to keep our figures as uncluttered as possible, we use the stylized view of hybrid orbitals shown in Figure 10-8Z). In this representation, we omit the small backside lobe, and we slim down the orbital in order to show several orbitals around an atom. Figure 10-8c shows a stylized view of an s p hybridized atom. This part of the figure shows that all four s p hybrids have the same shape, but each points to a different comer of a regular tetrahedron. 

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