Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Allotropes
Allotropes
Allotropes
Rhombic Sulphur:
It is an allotropic form of sulphur which is stable below 96 one molecule of rhombic sulphur
contains 8-atoms i-e 8g. The crystal of rhombic sulphur has octahedral structure.
Monoclinic Sulphur:
It is the allotropic form of sulphur which is stable between 96 to 119 a molecule of monoclinic
sulphur consists of eight sulphur atoms i-e 8g, but is different from rhombic sulphur in the
arrangement of atoms.
Plastic Sulphur:
It is a non crystalline allotropic form of sulphur, it can be stretched like a rubber, it is unstable and
changes into rhombic sulphur on slight heating even at room temperature it also changes.
ALLOTROPES OF OXYGEN
Atomic oxygen, denoted O(3P), O(3P) or O((3)P), is very reactive, as the single atoms of
oxygen tend to quickly bond with nearby molecules. On Earth's surface, it does not exist
naturally for very long, but in outer space, the presence of plenty of ultraviolet
radiation results in a low Earth orbit atmosphere in which 96% of the oxygen occurs in
atomic form.
The common allotrope of elemental oxygen on Earth, O2, is generally known as oxygen,
but may be called dioxygen or molecular oxygen to distinguish it from the element itself.
Elemental oxygen is most commonly encountered in this form, as about 21% (by volume)
of Earth's atmosphere. The ground state of dioxygen is known as triplet oxygen because it
has two unpaired electrons. The first excited state, singlet oxygen, has no unpaired
electrons and is metastable. Liquid oxygen is pale blue in colour, and is quite
markedly paramagneticliquid oxygen contained in a flask suspended by a string is
attracted to a magnet.
Singlet oxygen is the common name used for the two metastable states of
molecular oxygen (O2) with higher energy than the ground state triplet oxygen. Because of
the differences in their electron shells, singlet oxygen has different chemical properties
than triplet oxygen, including absorbing and emitting light at different wavelengths. It can
be generated in a photosensitized process by energy transfer from dye molecules such
as rose bengal, methylene blue or porphyrins, or by chemical processes such as
spontaneous decomposition of hydrogen trioxide in water or the reaction of hydrogen
peroxide with hypochlorite.
Triatomic oxygen (Ozone, O3), is a very reactive allotrope of oxygen that is destructive
to materials like rubber and fabrics and is also damaging to lung tissue.[5] Traces of it can
be detected as a sharp, chlorine-like smell, coming from electric motors, laser printers,
and photocopiers. It was named "ozone" by Christian Friedrich Schnbein, in 1840, from
the Greek word (ozo) for smell.
Ozone is thermodynamically unstable toward the more common dioxygen form, and is
formed by reaction of O2 with atomic oxygen produced by splitting of O2 by UV radiation
in the upper atmosphere. Ozone absorbs strongly in the ultraviolet and functions as a shield
for the biosphere against the mutagenic and other damaging effects of solar UV
radiation (see ozone layer). Ozone is formed near the Earth's surface by the photochemical
disintegration of nitrogen dioxide from the exhaust of automobiles. Ground-level ozone is
an air pollutant that is especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart
and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. The immune
system produces ozone as an antimicrobial (see below). Liquid and solid O3 have a deeper
blue color than ordinary oxygen and they are unstable and explosive.
Ozone is a pale blue gas condensable to a dark blue liquid. It is formed whenever air is
subjected to an electrical discharge, and has the characteristic pungent odour of new-
mown hay, or for those living in urban environments, of subways the so-called
'electrical odour'.
Tetraoxygen had been suspected to exist since the early 1900s, when it was known as
oxozone. It was identified in 2001 by a team, led by F. Cacace, at the University of
Rome.The molecule O4 was thought to be in one of the phases of solid oxygen later
identified as O8. Cacace's team suggested that O4 probably consists of two dumbbell-
like O2 molecules loosely held together by induced dipole dispersion forces.
There are six known distinct phases of solid oxygen. One of them is a dark-red O8 cluster.
When oxygen is subjected to a pressure of 96 GPa, it becomes metallic, in a similar manner
as hydrogen, and becomes more similar to the heavier chalcogens, such
as tellurium and polonium, both of which show significant metallic character. At very low
temperatures, this phase also becomes superconducting.