Nonmetals properties

Properties of hydrogen Properties of metals Band theory Properties of nonmetals Properties of transition metals Coordination compounds Crystal-held theory Complex ions... 

As elements progress from group 13 to group 17, they show a shift from metallic characteristics to properties of the nonmetals, but the distinctions are not cut-and-dried. Some elements listed in groups 13, 14, 15, and 16 may have both metal-like qualities—metalloids or semiconductors—as well as a few nonmetal properties. 

There are some exceptions to the general properties of nonmetals. For example, carbon can conduct electricity, although it has all other nonmetal properties. Bromine is a liquid at normal temperatures, and it is the only liquid non-metal. All of the elements that are gases at normal temperatures are nonmetals. All of the metals, on the other hand, are solids at normal temperatures except for mercury, which is a liquid. (The element gallium melts at 91-93°F [31-32°C], which is just above room temperature.)... 

Antimony compounds are based on antimony, an element that exhibits both metal and nonmetal properties. Many of its compounds are toxic and corrosive, particularly the soluble salts. They include antimony iodide and antimony perchloride. Some antimony compounds decompose in water to produce toxic gases e.g., antimony sulphate decomposes to sulphur dioxide while antimony bromide produces bromine gas. 

Ammonium nitrate-based explosives account for about 97% of total U.S. industrial explosive consumption. Coal mining in the United States formed about 65—68% of the demand for explosives in 1991. The remaining uses were quarrying and nonmetal mining, 15% metal mining, 10% constmction, 7% miscellaneous uses, 3—4%. The properties of ammonium nitrate are given in Table 18 (173,239—242). 

The emissivity, S, is the ratio of the radiant emittance of a body to that of a blackbody at the same temperature. Kirchhoff s law requires that a = e for aH bodies at thermal equHibrium. For a blackbody, a = e = 1. Near room temperature, most clean metals have emissivities below 0.1, and most nonmetals have emissivities above 0.9. This description is of the spectraHy integrated (or total) absorptivity, reflectivity, transmissivity, and emissivity. These terms can also be defined as spectral properties, functions of wavelength or wavenumber, and the relations hold for the spectral properties as weH (71,74—76). 

Impurities in cmde metal can occur as other metals or nonmetals, either dissolved or in some occluded form. Normally, impurities are detrimental, making the metal less useful and less valuable. Sometimes, as in the case of copper, extremely small impurity concentrations, eg, arsenic, can impart a harmful effect on a given physical property, eg, electrical conductivity. On the other hand, impurities may have commercial value. For example, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, associated with copper, each has value. In the latter situation, the purity of the metal is usually improved by some refining technique, thereby achieving some value-added and by-product credit. 

Zirconium chloride and bromide have closely related but dissimilar stmctures. Both contain two metal layers enclosed between two nonmetal layers which both have hexagonal stmcture. In ZrCl, the four-layer sandwich repeats in layers stacked up according to /abca/bcab/cabc/, whereas the ZrBr stacking order is /abca/cabc/bcab/ (188). Both are metallic conductors, but the difference in packing results in different mechanical properties the bromide is much more brittle. 

Table 2.4. General Properties of the Corrosion Resistance of Nonmetals to Various Chemicals [11]...

A large variety of salts of triflic acid formed both from metals and nonmetals are known Many of these salts are versatile reagents for organic synthesis because of such properties of the tnflate anion as very low nucleophilicity and low coordinating ability However, despite low nucleophilicity, the triflate anion can combine with carbocationic intermediates under appropriate conditions to form triflate esters [116, 117, II8. ... 

The diagonal line or stairway that starts to the left of boron in the periodic table (Figure 2.7, page 31) separates metals from nonmetals. The more than 80 elements to the left and below that line, shown in blue in the table, have the properties of metals in particular, they have high electrical conductivities. Elements above and to the right of the stairway are nonmetals (yellow) about 18 elements fit in that category. 

Along the stairway (zig-zag line) in the periodic table are several elements that are difficult to classify exclusively as metals or nonmetals. They have properties between those of elements in the two classes. In particular, their electrical conductivities are intermediate between those of metals and nonmetals. The six elements... 

Table 21.1 (p. 556) lists some of the properties of the eight nonmetals considered in this chapter. Notice that all of these elements are molecular those of low molar mass (N2> 02, F2> Cl2) are gases at room temperature and atmospheric pressure (Figure 21.2, p. 556). Stronger dispersion forces cause the nonmetals of higher molar mass to be either liquids (Br2) or solids (I2, P4. S8). 

Table 21.2 lists some of the more important hydrogen compounds of the nonmetals. (Those of carbon are discussed in Chapter 22.) The physical states listed are those observed at 25°C and 1 atm. The remainder of this section is devoted to a discussion of the chemical properties of the compounds shown in boldface in die table. 

The elements that form network solids lie on the right side of the periodic table, bordering the elements that form molecular crystals on one side and those that form metals on the other. Thus they are intermediate between the metals and the nonmetals. In this borderline region classifications are sometimes difficult. Whereas one property may suggest one classification, another property may lead to a different conclusion. Figure 17-3 shows some elements that form solids that are neither wholly metallic nor wholly molecular crystals. 

A metalloid has the appearance and some properties of a metal but behaves chemically like a nonmetal. 

B.22 State three physical properties that are typical of (a) metals (b) nonmetals. 

Because nonmetals do not form monatomic cations, the nature of bonds between atoms of nonmetals puzzled scientists until 1916, when Lewis published his explanation. With brilliant insight, and before anyone knew about quantum mechanics or orbitals, Lewis proposed that a covalent bond is a pair of electrons shared between two atoms (3). The rest of this chapter and the next develop Lewis s vision of the covalent bond. In this chapter, we consider the types, numbers, and properties of bonds that can be formed by sharing pairs of electrons. In Chapter 3, we revisit Lewis s concept and see how to understand it in terms of orbitals. 

Ionic and covalent bonding are two extreme models of the chemical bond. Most actual bonds lie somewhere between purely ionic and purely covalent. When we describe bonds between nonmetals, covalent bonding is a good model. When a metal and nonmetal are present in a simple compound, ionic bonding is a good model. However, the bonds in many compounds seem to have properties between the two extreme models of bonding. Can we describe these bonds more accurately by improving the two basic models ... 

Now we move into the p block of the periodic table and encounter the complex bur fascinating world of the nonmetals. Here, close to the center of the periodic table, we meet strange properties, because the elements are neither so electropositive that they easily lose electrons nor so electronegative that they easily gain them. 

The elements show increasing metallic character down the group (Table 14.6). Carbon has definite nonmetallic properties it forms covalent compounds with nonmetals and ionic compounds with metals. The oxides of carbon and silicon are acidic. Germanium is a typical metalloid in that it exhibits metallic or nonmetallic properties according to the other element present in the compound. Tin and, even more so, lead have definite metallic properties. However, even though tin is classified as a metal, it is not far from the metalloids in the periodic table, and it does have some amphoteric properties. For example, tin reacts with both hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and hot alkali ... 

Why Do We Need to Know This Material The elements in the last four groups of the periodic table illustrate the rich variety of the properties of the nonmetals and many of the principles of chemistry. These elements include some that are vital to life, such as the nitrogen of proteins, the oxygen of the air, and the phosphorus of our bones, and so a familiarity with their properties helps us to understand living systems. Many of these elements are also central to the materials that provide the backbone of emerging technologies such as the nanosciences, superconductivity, and computer displays. 

What Do We Need to Know Already It would be a good idea to review the information on periodic trends in Sections 1.15-1.22 and 14.1-14.2. Because the nonmetals form molecular compounds, it would also be helpful to review Lewis structures, electronegativity, and covalent bonding in Chapters 2 and 3. The bulk properties of nonmetallic materials are affected by intermolecular forces (Sections 5.1-5.5). 

The interhalogens have properties intermediate between those of the constituent halogens. Nonmetals form covalent halides metals tend to form ionic halides. The oxoacids of chlorine are all oxidizing agents both acidity and oxidizing strength of oxoacids increase as the oxidation number of the halogen increases. 

Rationalize the properties of the oxides and oxoacids of the nonmetals in terms of the oxidation number of the nonmetal and the identification of acid anhydrides. 

For these three elements, for the first time in this Chapter, combinations of a nonmetal with chalcogens and halogens have to be discussed. As regards their structure and properties, most of these do not belong to the field of this review as described in the introductory Chapter. For those interested in the ternary carbon compounds that have the composition CSX2 (X = Cl, Br, I), information may be found in an issue of "Gmelin (142). 

---