Nonmetals atomic radii

In interstitial compounds, however, the nonmetal is conveniently regarded as neutral atoms inserted into the interstices of the expanded lattice of the elemental metal. Obviously, this is an oversimplification, as the electrons of the nonmetal atoms must interact with the modified valence and conduction bands of the metal host, but this crude picture is adequate for our purposes. On this basis, Hagg made the empirical observation that insertion is possible when the atomic radius of the nonmetal is not greater than 0.59 times the atomic radius of the host metal—there is no simple geometrical justification for this, however, as the metal lattice is concomitantly expanded by an unknown amount. These interstitial compounds are sometimes called Hagg compounds.9,10 They are, in effect, interstitial solid solutions of the nonmetal in the metal (as distinct from substitutional solid solutions, in which actual lattice atoms are replaced, as in the case of gold-copper and other alloys Section 4.3). 

Hagg found that metals can accommodate interstitial nonmetal atoms of radius up to 59% of that of the metal atoms. Show that, in this limiting case, accommodation of the nonmetal atoms in the octahedral holes of a face-centered cubic metal lattice should result in an expansion of the unit cell dimension by 12.4%. [Hint Review the radius ratio rules in Section 4.5.]... 

Metals, nonmetals, and atomic radius Elements in the periodic table are divided into the two broad categories of metals and nonmetals with a jagged line separating the two as shown in the figure. 

As covered in the previous chapter, atoms can gain or lose electrons. The resulting ions can be expected to be of a different radius than that of the original atom. When a nonmetal gains an electron, the ionic radius of the anion will be bigger than that of the nonmetal atom. This is shown in Figure 4.2. 

For metals such as sodium, the atomic radius is defined as half the distance between adjacent nuclei in a crystal of the element. See Figure 6-11a. For elements that commonly occur as molecules, such as many nonmetals, the... 

The radius of a nonmetal atom is often determined from a diatomic molecule of an element. 

How does the ionic radius of a nonmetal compare with its atomic radius Explain why the change in radius occurs. (6.3)... 

How does the atomic radius for a nonmetal atom relate to reactivity ... 

The smaller the radius of the nonmetal atom, the more reactive it is. 

For an interstitial alloy to form, the solute atoms must have a much smaller bonding atomic radius than the solvent atoms. Typically, the interstitial element is a nonmetal that makes covalent bonds to the neighboring metal atoms. The presence of the extra bonds provided by the interstitial component causes the metal lattice to become harder, stronger, and less ductile. For example, steel, which is much harder and stronger than pure iron, is an alloy of iron that contains up to 3% carbon. Other elements may be added to form alloy steels. Vanadium and chromium may be added to impart strength, for instance, and to increase resistance to fatigue and corrosion. 

As shown in this table, carbon, boron, and silicon have comparable electronic structure. They also have some of the smallest atoms. Silicon and boron are similar elements which can be considered borderline cases between metals and nonmetals. They also have lower electronegativity than carbon and, by convention, their compounds with carbon can be called carbides (see Sec. 2.0 of Ch. 2). The differences between the atomic structure, electronegativity, and atomic radius of these three elements are not as significant as those between carbon and the transition metals (see Ch. 3, Table 3.8). 

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