p-Block Elements
- The p-Block Elements encompass elements
found in Group 13 to 18 on the periodic table.
- When combined with the s-Block Elements,
they are referred to as Representative or Main Group Elements.
- The outermost electron arrangement ranges
from ns2np1 to ns2np6 within
each period.
- At the conclusion of each period lies a
noble gas element with a closed valence shell ns2np6
configuration.
- Noble gases possess fully populated
valence shell orbitals, making their electron arrangements stable and
resistant to change.
- Due to this stability, noble gases
exhibit minimal chemical reactivity.
- Just before the noble gas series, two
significant groups of nonmetals can be found.
- These groups are the halogens (Group 17)
and the chalcogens (Group 16).
- Both the halogens and chalcogens have
notably negative electron gain enthalpies.
- They readily accept one or two electrons
respectively to achieve the stable noble gas configuration.
- Non-metallic tendencies intensify as we
progress from left to right across a period.
- Conversely, metallic properties increase
as we move down the group.
d-Block
Elements
- These elements occupy Group 3 to 12 at
the center of the Periodic Table.
- They are identified by their occupation
of inner d orbitals by electrons and are termed d-Block Elements.
- These elements typically have the general
outer electronic configuration of (n-1)d1-10ns0-2,
with an exception being Pd which has the electronic configuration 4d105s0.
- All of these elements are categorized as
metals.
- They commonly yield ions with distinct
colors, display variable valence (oxidation states), and exhibit
paramagnetism.
- These elements often serve as catalysts.
- Notably, Zn, Cd, and Hg possess the
electronic configuration (n-1)d10ns2, and
consequently, they lack several properties exhibited by typical transition
elements.
- Transition metals act as a connection
between the more chemically active metals found in the s-block and the
comparatively less reactive elements in Groups 13 and 14.
f-Block
Elements
- The f-Block Elements, also known as
Inner-Transition Elements, encompass two rows at the bottom of the
Periodic Table.
- These rows consist of Lanthanoids (Ce(Z =
58) – Lu(Z = 71)) and Actinoids (Th(Z = 90) – Lr (Z = 103)).
- Their outer electronic configuration is
defined as (n-2)f1-14 (n-1)d0–1 ns2.
- The last added electron for each element
occupies an f-orbital.
- The Inner-Transition Elements are
collectively named due to this arrangement.
- All elements in this category are metals.
- Elements within each series share similar
properties.
- Among the Actinoids, chemistry is more
intricate due to the multitude of possible oxidation states.
- Actinoid elements are radioactive in
nature.
- Many actinoids are produced only in
extremely small quantities through nuclear reactions, limiting their
chemical study.
- Elements beyond uranium are termed
Transuranium Elements.
Metals,
Non-metals, and Metalloids:
- Apart from the categorization into s-,
p-, d-, and f-blocks, another classification of elements is based on their
properties.
- This classification divides elements into
Metals and Non-Metals.
- Metals constitute over 78% of known
elements and are positioned on the left side of the Periodic Table.
- Typically, metals are solids at room
temperature, except for mercury. Gallium and caesium also have notably low
melting points (303K and 302K, respectively).
- Metals generally possess high melting and
boiling points.
- They excel in conducting heat and
electricity.
- Metals display malleability (capable of
being flattened into thin sheets) and ductility (can be drawn into wires).
- On the other hand, non-metals are found
on the upper right-hand side of the Periodic Table.
- Within a horizontal row, elements
transition from metallic on the left to non-metallic on the right.
- Non-metals are primarily solids or gases
at room temperature, with exceptions like boron and carbon.
- They have low melting and boiling points.
- Non-metals are poor conductors of heat
and electricity.
- Most non-metallic solids are brittle and
lack malleability and ductility.
- The metallic nature increases as we
descend a group, while non-metallic characteristics intensify from left to
right across the Periodic Table.
- The shift from metallic to non-metallic
traits is gradual, as denoted by the thick zig-zag line.
- Elements such as silicon, germanium,
arsenic, antimony, and tellurium situated along this line and forming a
diagonal across the Periodic Table exhibit features that resemble both
metals and non-metals.
- These elements are referred to as
Semi-metals or Metalloids.
Relationship
between Ionization Enthalpy and Atomic Radius:
- Ionization enthalpy and atomic radius are
interconnected properties.
- Understanding their trends involves
considering electron attraction to the nucleus and electron-electron
repulsion.
- Two main factors influencing these trends
are: (i) electron attraction toward the nucleus, and (ii)
electron-electron repulsion.
Effective Nuclear Charge and Shielding:
- Valence electrons experience an effective
nuclear charge due to shielding by inner core electrons.
- Shielding or screening reduces the net
positive charge experienced by valence electrons.
- Shielding is more effective when inner
shell orbitals are fully filled.
- Alkali metals exhibit effective shielding
with a single outermost ns-electron following a noble gas electronic
configuration.
Periodic Trend - Across a Period:
- Moving from lithium to fluorine across
the second period, successive electrons enter the same principal quantum
level.
- Shielding doesn't increase significantly
to offset the stronger attraction between electrons and nucleus.
- Increasing nuclear charge dominates over
shielding, leading to tighter hold on outermost electrons.
- Ionization enthalpy increases across a
period due to stronger electron-nucleus attraction.
Group Trend - Down a Group:
- Moving down a group, outermost electrons
are farther from the nucleus.
- Increased shielding by inner electrons
outweighs the rising nuclear charge.
- Outermost electron removal requires less
energy down a group.
Ionization Enthalpy Anomalies:
- First ionization enthalpy of boron (Z =
5) is slightly less than beryllium (Z = 4) due to electron configuration
differences.
- Beryllium's ionization removes an s-electron,
while boron's removes a p-electron.
- Penetration of 2s-electron is higher than
2p-electron, leading to greater shielding for boron's p-electron.
- Oxygen's smaller first ionization
enthalpy compared to nitrogen's arises from electron configuration differences.
- In oxygen, electron-electron repulsion
increases due to pairing in 2p-orbitals, making removal of the fourth
2p-electron easier.
Electron Gain
Enthalpy:
- Electron Gain Enthalpy (∆egH)
measures the enthalpy change when a neutral gaseous atom gains an electron
to form a negative ion (anion).
- This process is represented by the
equation: X(g) + e– → X–(g).
Exothermic and
Endothermic Processes:
- The addition of an electron to an atom
can be either exothermic (energy released) or endothermic (energy
absorbed), depending on the element.
- Elements like halogens (group 17) release
energy when gaining an electron due to reaching stable noble gas
configurations.
- Noble gases, however, have positive
electron gain enthalpies as the added electron enters a higher principal
quantum level, resulting in an unstable electronic configuration.
Trends Across the
Periodic Table:
- Electron gain enthalpy is more negative
towards the upper right of the periodic table before the noble gases.
- Generally, electron gain enthalpy becomes
more negative as atomic number increases across a period.
- Increasing effective nuclear charge
across a period makes it easier to add an electron to smaller atoms due to
stronger attraction to the nucleus.
Trends Down a
Group:
- Electron gain enthalpy becomes less
negative as you move down a group.
- The larger atomic size results in the
added electron being farther from the nucleus.
Anomalies for
Oxygen and Fluorine:
- Electron gain enthalpy of oxygen (O) and
fluorine (F) is less negative than that of the following element in the
period.
- Adding an electron to O or F places it in
the smaller n = 2 quantum level, causing significant repulsion from other
electrons present.
- For Sulfur (S) or Chlorine (Cl) in the n
= 3 quantum level, the added electron occupies more space, leading to less
electron-electron repulsion.
Electronegativity:
- Electronegativity is a qualitative
measure of an atom's ability in a chemical compound to attract shared
electrons towards itself.
- It's not a directly measurable quantity
but can be estimated using various numerical scales.
- Notable scales include Pauling scale,
Mulliken-Jaffe scale, and Allred-Rochow scale, with Pauling scale being
the most widely used.
- Linus Pauling assigned an arbitrary value
of 4.0 to fluorine as a reference point for electronegativity.
Variation in
Electronegativity:
- Electronegativity varies based on the
element it's bound to.
- It offers insights into the nature of the
bonding force between atoms.
Trends in
Electronegativity:
- Across a period (left to right),
electronegativity generally increases (e.g., lithium to fluorine).
- Down a group (top to bottom),
electronegativity generally decreases (e.g., fluorine to astatine).
- This trend is related to atomic radii:
electronegativity increases across periods as atomic radii decrease, and
it decreases down groups as atomic radii increase.
Relationship with
Non-Metallic Properties:
- Non-metallic elements tend to gain
electrons, making their electronegativity high.
- Electronegativity correlates with
non-metallic properties of elements.
- Electronegativity is inversely related to
metallic properties: higher electronegativity corresponds to lower
metallic properties.
- Across a period, as electronegativity
increases, non-metallic properties increase (metallic properties
decrease).
- Down a group, as electronegativity
decreases, non-metallic properties decrease (metallic properties
increase).
Periodic Trends in Chemical Properties
- Valence and Oxidation States:
- Valence is a key characteristic property
of elements and is linked to their electronic configurations.
- For representative elements, valence is
often (though not always) equal to the number of electrons in their
outermost orbitals, or eight minus the number of outermost electrons.
- The term "oxidation state" is
commonly used interchangeably with valence.
- Oxidation States in Compounds:
- Consider compounds OF2 and Na2O
with the elements F, O, and Na.
- Electronegativity order: F > O >
Na.
- In OF2, each fluorine (F) atom
shares one electron with oxygen (O), resulting in F having an oxidation
state of -1 due to its high electronegativity.
- Oxygen in OF2 shares two
electrons with fluorine atoms, leading to an oxidation state of +2.
- In Na2O, oxygen accepts two electrons
(oxidation state -2) from two sodium (Na) atoms.
- Sodium loses an electron to oxygen,
resulting in an oxidation state of +1.
- Oxidation state of an element in a
compound is defined as the charge it acquires based on electronegativity
considerations from other atoms in the molecule.
- Periodic Trends in Valence:
- Various periodic trends are observed in
the valence of elements, specifically in hydrides and oxides.
- Table 3.9 displays some of these periodic
trends in the valence of elements.
- The book discusses other periodic trends
in the chemical behavior of elements separately.
- Variable Valence:
- Several elements exhibit variable
valence.
- This variability is particularly notable
in transition elements and actinoids.
- Detailed study of variable valence in
these elements will be covered later in the material.
Anomalous Properties of Second Period
Elements:
1. Covalent
Character of First Elements in Groups 1 and 2:
- Lithium (Group 1) and beryllium (Group 2)
exhibit covalent character in their compounds, unlike other alkali and
alkaline earth metals.
- Contrast with the other group members
that tend to form predominantly ionic compounds.
2. Diagonal
Relationship:
- Similar behavior observed between lithium
and magnesium, and between beryllium and aluminum.
- This relationship is referred to as
diagonal relationship in the periodic properties.
3. Reasons for
Different Chemical Behavior:
- Attributed to small size, large
charge/radius ratio, and high electronegativity of the first group member.
- The small size and higher
electronegativity influence bonding and reactivity patterns.
4. Valence
Orbitals:
- First member of a group has only four
valence orbitals (2s and 2p) available for bonding.
- Second member of the group possesses nine
valence orbitals (3s, 3p, 3d).
5. Maximum
Covalency:
- Due to limited valence orbitals, the
first group member's maximum covalency is 4 (e.g., boron can only form
BF₄).
- Other group members can expand their
valence shells, accommodating more than four electron pairs (e.g.,
aluminum forms AlF₆³⁻).
6. Formation of
Multiple Bonds:
- First member of p-block elements displays
enhanced ability to form pπ - pπ multiple bonds.
- Examples include C=C, C≡C, N=N, N≡N.
- Also forms multiple bonds with other
second period elements, like C=O, C=N, C≡N, N=O.
- Atomic Radii Change in Transition Metals
(3d Series):
- The change in atomic radii among
transition metals (3d series) is notably smaller compared to
representative elements in the same period.
- This trend also holds true for
inner-transition metals (4f series), where the change in atomic radii is
even smaller.
- Ionization Enthalpies and
Electropositivity:
- Transition metals' ionization enthalpies
fall between those of s-block and p-block elements.
- Consequently, these metals exhibit lower
electropositivity when compared to group 1 and 2 metals.
- Group Trends: Increase in Atomic and
Ionic Radii:
- Within a group, there's a consistent
increase in atomic and ionic radii as the atomic number rises.
- This increase leads to a gradual
decrease in ionization enthalpies.
- Electron gain enthalpies also generally
decrease (with exceptions in some third period elements), particularly in
the case of main group elements.
- Group Trends: Metallic and Non-Metallic
Character:
- Down a group, the trend shows an
increase in metallic character and a decrease in non-metallic character.
- This shift in properties can be linked
to the elements' reducing and oxidizing behaviors, which will be
explained later.
- Transition Elements' Exceptional Trend:
- In contrast to main group elements,
transition elements exhibit a reverse trend.
- This anomalous trend can be rationalized
by considering factors like atomic size and ionization enthalpy.