Activity 1

Directions: Answer the following briefly and concisely.

1. Do the three 4p atomic orbitals possess the same or different values of (a) principal
quantum number, (b) the orbital quantum number, and (c) the magnetic quantum
number? Write down a set of quantum numbers for each 4p atomic orbital to illustrate
your answer (Source: Mid-chapter problem No.8 of a reference book).

2. Using the concept of shielding, explain why is it preferred that Cr remove its 4s
electron instead of its 3d electron in ionizing into Cr+.
In the concept of shielding, when Cr undergoes ionization, it will prefer to remove the electron in
the 4s orbital because it is farther away from the nucleus which results to having it a higher
energy than the 3d orbital. Since when the atoms ionized, the electrons come from the highest
energy level will be removed first, which is also furthest from the influence of the nucleus
because nucleus have neutrons and protons which more likely decreases the energy of the
electrons near it due to its positive charge.
3. Explain why O has lower ionization energy and a more negative electron affinity than
N.
The O has lower ionization energy and a more negative electron affinity than N. Due to electron
pair repulsion of oxygen, which lowers the ionization energy and increases its’ electron affinity,
an electron can be easily added or removed to an oxygen orbital compare it to nitrogen. The
oxygen has a paired 2p valence electron, which makes it easier for the electron to get removed,
making it having a lower ionization energy. While the oxygen's electron affinity is greater than
nitrogen because oxygen is more electronegative than nitrogen and hence it has more tendency
to take electrons. Since the N atom's valence p-orbital is stable and half-filled in the
configuration, it takes a significant amount of energy to remove and add electrons into its’
valence shell.

Activity 2
Directions: Answer the following problems as comprehensively as possible. Don’t forget to
indicate the references that you used.
1. Use the molecular orbital theory to rationalize the trend in O-O bond distances
and determine whether each molecule is diamagnetic or paramagnetic:
When both of the bond length and bond energy changes as the bond order increases and as
the number of electrons shared between two atoms in a molecule increases, the bond order of a
bond increases, the strength of the bond increases and the distance between nuclei decreases.
Bond order and bond length indicate the type and strength of covalent bonds between atoms.
Bond order and length are inversely proportional to each other: when bond order is increased,
bond length is decreased. Since the higher bond orders result in stronger bonds, which are
accompanied by stronger forces of attraction holding the atoms together resulting in a shortened
bond length.
2. Account for each of the following observations: (Source: Problem 1.35, p. 51 of
reference book)
a. IF5 is a polar molecule.
The IF5 is a square pyramidal molecule because of the lone pair which is also most likely to be
polar.
b. BI3 is a trigonal planar while PI3 is trigonal pyramidal in shape.
BI3 has no lone pair to its central atom and it is nonpolar while PI3 has a lone pair to its central
atom and it is polar.
3. Determine the point group of the following compounds:
a. Naphthalene
Naphthalene belongs to the point group D2h.
b. IOF3
The molecule has only a mirror plane. Its point group is Cs
.
Activity 3
Directions: Answer the following briefly and concisely.
1. Four pKa values (1.0, 2.0, 7.0, 9.0) are tabulated for the acid H4P2O7. Write equations
to show the dissociation steps in aqueous solution and assign, with reasoning, a pKa
value to each step (Source: Problem 6.2, p. 189 of reference book).
Smallest pKa refers to loss of first proton and so on.
H4P2O7(aq) + H2O -> [H3O]+(aq) + [H3P2O7]-(aq) pKa= 1.0
[H3P2O7]-(aq) + H2O -> [H3O]+(aq) + [H2P2O7]2-(aq) pKa= 2.0
[H2P2O7]2-(aq) + H2O -> [H3O]+(aq) + [HP2O7]3-(aq) pKa= 7.0
[HP2O7]3-(aq) + H2O -> [H3O]+(aq) + [P2O7]4-(aq) pKa= 9.0
Ka1> Ka2> Ka3> Ka4 because removal of an H is more difficult with higher anion charge and
the larger the pKa the smaller the Ka.
2. Which among the following oxides are less likely to be acidic, SnO, MgO, or BeO?
Justify your answer.
Acidity increases with increasing oxidation number of the element. The oxidation number of Sn
in SnO is +2. The oxidation number of magnesium in magnesium oxide is 2. BeO and SnO are
both amphotheric so they are an oxide that can act either as an acid or as a base to create salt
and water in a reaction. While MgO is a basic is a simple basic oxide, because it contains oxide
ions. It reacts with water to form magnesium hydroxide which is a base. Therefore, MgO is less
likely to be acidic since magnesium hydroxide is formed in this reaction. Since magnesium oxide
accepts protons (H^+ ions), it is a base (as per Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids and bases).
Acids, on the other hand, are donors of protons.

3. Discuss the interpretation of the observation that magnesium oxide is more soluble in
aqueous magnesium chloride than in pure water (Source: Problem 6.21, p.190 of
reference book).

Activity 4
Directions: Answer the following briefly and concisely.
1. Explain how does metal corrodes and propose a way on preventing the metal from
corroding applying the principles of redox reactions.
corrosion process is spontaneous redox reaction that has a negative effects in metals.  The
reaction begins with the oxidation of Fe (active), which creates a pit and releases electrons that
move through the metal through an external circuit from the anodic region to the cathodic
region. At the inactive Fe cathode, electrons reduced O2 to produce H2O. Then, the rust is
created by the movement of Fe 2+ through the droplets or moisture and reacts with O2 and
H2O to form hydrated form of Fe2O3. The reaction will then occur spontaneously, and the
moisture present serves as a kind of electrolyte and salt bridge, or an ion solution, that let
the ions to travel while maintaining the solution's neutrality.
When iron behaves more like a cathode, corrosion can be minimized. Iron can be shielded from
corrosion by alloying, paint, cathodic protection, or applying a thin layer of chromium, tin, or zinc
metal. Since iron can serve as both an anode and a cathode in the corrosion process because it
has a low reduction potential compared to these metals, cathodic protection is the most likely
method to prevent the formation of rust. An iron object can be protected by coating it physically
or by joining it to a more active metal (like Zn, Mg, or Al), which serves as the anode in place of
the Fe. These metals are stronger reducing agents than iron, which means that they give
their electrons rather than the iron, avoiding the oxidation of the iron. For instance, zinc, which is
further applied to steel through a procedure called galvanizing, creates a mixed oxide-carbonate
coating because zinc is a metal that is more active than iron.

2. Recently, this news about the development of sodium-ion batteries was published
online. Explain how a layered metal oxide cathode and additional sodium ions can
prevent the collection of sodium crystals damaging the cathode.
According to a study by Junhua Song, a promising concept for Na ion batteries is a metal oxide
cathode that uses a localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE) with sodium (Na) metal to
stop the growth of the surface sodium crystal layer that causes in damaging the cathode. He
proposed that the primary determinants of the impedance rise are now thought to be the surface
phase transition and the formation and evolution of the rock salt layer. It interacts with cracking,
metal dissolution, CEI, and other processes that causes the cathode structure and capacity to
diminish.
Since sodium-ion batteries have a high reactivity of Na metal with electrolytes, their practical
use in rechargeable Na metal batteries is restricted by the low Na metal cycling efficiency.
Sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (NaFSI) and ether solvent were used to make high
concentration electrolytes by adding those additional sodium ions (HCE, 4 M), which could
guarantee steady cycling of Na metal with a high coulombic efficiency but at the expense of high
viscosity, poor wettability, and high salt cost. In order to address this issue, it is effective to
dilute HCEs with an "inert" solvent, creating a localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE).
The solvation structure of cation anion aggregates (AGGs) that occur in concentrated electrolyte
is minimally or completely unaffected by the "inert" diluent. Instead, it can greatly improve the
wettability of the electrolyte, lower the viscosity, boost conductivity, and lower the sodium salt
concentration by not breaking the localized Na+ -FSI− -DME solvation structures making it more
sodium ion in the battery while the sodium ion plays an important role in improving the interfacial
reaction kinetics and interfacial stability of Na metal anode.
In summary, it explains how managing the surface phase transition is essential for increasing
the stability of the cathode structure and battery performance and offers general
recommendations for enhancing the performance of layered metal oxide cathodes for Li/Na-ion
batteries. High-performance surface interphase stability full-cells have been shown with realistic
loading of layered metal oxide cathodes, hard carbon anodes, and regulated quantity of
advanced electrolytes, with surface phase transition and well-controlled chemical reactivity

The use of layered metal oxide and advanced electrolytes via additional sodium ion is a
momentous step forward in developing high performance surface interphase stability of a
battery.

Richard Cruz Nortez

Here, we report that the salt concentration could be significantly reduced (≤1.5 M) by a
hydrofluoroether as an “inert” diluent, which maintains the solvation structures of HCE, thereby
forming a localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE). An LHCE (2.1 M NaFSI/1,2-
dimethoxyethane (DME) - bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether (BTFE) (solvent molar ratio 1:2))
enables dendrite-free Na deposition with a high coulombic efficiencyof >99%, fast charging
(20C) and stable cycling (90.8% retention after 40,000 cycles) of Na||Na3V2(PO4)3 batteries.

To summarize, we discovered that an LHCE with low overall salt concentration (2.1 M
NaFSI/DME-BTFE (1:2)) enables the dendrite-free Na plating with high CE of >99%, and greatly
enhance the fast charging (20C) and stable cycling (90.8% after 40,000 cycles) of Na||NVP
batteries. This is due to the “inert” nature of BTFE diluent that does not break the localized Na+
-FSI− -DME solvation structures, but plays an important role in improving the interfacial reaction
kinetics and interfacial stability of Na metal anode.

The above analyses clearly show that the controlled surface

phase transition is the determining factor for the superb
electrochemical performance of O3-NaNMC682210 in the
advanced electrolyte, while CEI, intragranualr cracking, and the
surface phase transition layer all contribute to the electrochemical performance
fade.45−47 It is believed that the thicker
CEI from the increased deposition of the electrolyte
decomposition products on the cathode surface impedes Li
penetration to the cathode and leads to a reduced kinetics in
the bulk. The Na deficiency, Mn dissolution, and reduction of
transition metals are related to the electrolyte interaction with
cathode surface. Gassing, as one result of the parasitic reactions
at the interphase, is believed to be another possible reason for
uneven current distribution and heterogeneity of the cathode
and hence contributes to the noisy Coulombic efficiency,
cathode structural change, and capacity fade in the conventional electrolyte.
An effective approach to overcome the shortcomings of HCEs is to dilute it with an
“inert”
solvent, forming a localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE), as schematically
illustrated
in Figure 1a. The “inert” diluent has minimal or no effect on the solvation structure of
cationanion aggregates (AGGs) that exist in concentrated electrolyte. Instead, it can
significantly lower
the sodium salt concentration, reduce the viscosity, increase the conductivity, and
improve the
wettability of the electrolyte.
To summarize, we discovered that an LHCE with low overall salt concentration (2.1 M
NaFSI/DME-BTFE (1:2)) enables the dendrite-free Na plating with high CE of >99%, and
greatly enhance the fast charging (20C) and stable cycling (90.8% after 40,000 cycles) of
Na||NVP batteries. This is due to the “inert” nature of BTFE diluent that does not break
the
localized Na+
-FSI−
-DME solvation structures, but plays an important role in improving the
interfacial reaction kinetics and interfacial stability of Na metal anode. T
 Activity 5
Directions: Complete the table below:

Name of Formula Shape of complex Isomerism

coordination exhibited
compound
[Co(NH3)6]Cl3
Potassium
tetrachloroaurate(III)
K3[CoF6]
[Cu(NH3)4(H2O)2]Cl2
[Pt(en)2]CO3