Francium compounds

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Francium compounds are compounds containing the element francium (Fr). Due to francium being very unstable, its salts are only known to a small extent. Francium coprecipitates with several caesium salts, such as caesium perchlorate, which results in small amounts of francium perchlorate. This coprecipitation can be used to isolate francium, by adapting the radiocaesium coprecipitation method of Lawrence E. Glendenin and C. M. Nelson. It will additionally coprecipitate with many other caesium salts, including the iodate, the picrate, the tartrate (also rubidium tartrate), the chloroplatinate, and the silicotungstate. It also coprecipitates with silicotungstic acid, and with perchloric acid, without another alkali metal as a carrier, which leads to other methods of separation. [1] [2]

Contents

Halides

Francium halides are all soluble in water and are expected to be white solids. They are expected to be produced by the reaction of the corresponding halogens. For example, francium chloride would be produced by the reaction of francium and chlorine. Francium chloride has been studied as a pathway to separate francium from other elements, by using the high vapour pressure of the compound, although francium fluoride would have a higher vapour pressure. [3]

Other compounds

Francium nitrate, sulfate, hydroxide, carbonate, acetate, and oxalate are all soluble in water, while the iodate, picrate, tartrate, chloroplatinate, and silicotungstate are insoluble. The insoluble compounds are used to extract francium from other radioactive products, such as zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, tin, and antimony, using the method mentioned in the section above. [3] The CsFr molecule is predicted to have francium at the negative end of the dipole, unlike all known heterodiatomic alkali metal molecules. Francium superoxide (FrO2) is expected to have a more covalent character than its lighter congeners; this is attributed to the 6p electrons in francium being more involved in the francium–oxygen bonding. [4] The relativistic destabilisation of the 6p3/2 spinor may make francium compounds in oxidation states higher than +1 possible, such as [FrVF6]; but this has not been experimentally confirmed. [5] Francium perchlorate is produced by the reaction of francium chloride and sodium perchlorate. The francium perchlorate coprecipitates with caesium perchlorate. [2] This coprecipitation can be used to isolate francium, by adapting the radiocaesium coprecipitation method of Lawrence E. Glendenin and C. M. Nelson. However, this method is unreliable in separating thallium, which also coprecipitates with caesium. [2] Francium perchlorate's entropy is expected to be 42.7  e.u [3] (178.7 J mol−1 K−1).

The only double salt known of francium has the formula Fr9Bi2I9.[ dubious ]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr). Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table. All alkali metals have their outermost electron in an s-orbital: this shared electron configuration results in their having very similar characteristic properties. Indeed, the alkali metals provide the best example of group trends in properties in the periodic table, with elements exhibiting well-characterised homologous behaviour. This family of elements is also known as the lithium family after its leading element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesium</span> Chemical element, symbol Cs and atomic number 55

Caesium is a chemical element; it has symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), which makes it one of only five elemental metals that are liquid at or near room temperature. Caesium has physical and chemical properties similar to those of rubidium and potassium. It is pyrophoric and reacts with water even at −116 °C (−177 °F). It is the least electronegative element, with a value of 0.79 on the Pauling scale. It has only one stable isotope, caesium-133. Caesium is mined mostly from pollucite. Caesium-137, a fission product, is extracted from waste produced by nuclear reactors. It has the largest atomic radius of all elements whose radii have been measured or calculated, at about 260 picometers.

Francium is a chemical element; it has symbol Fr and atomic number 87. It is extremely radioactive; its most stable isotope, francium-223, has a half-life of only 22 minutes. It is the second-most electropositive element, behind only caesium, and is the second rarest naturally occurring element. Francium's isotopes decay quickly into astatine, radium, and radon. The electronic structure of a francium atom is [Rn] 7s1; thus, the element is classed as an alkali metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radium</span> Chemical element, symbol Ra and atomic number 88

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt (chemistry)</span> Chemical compound involving ionic bonding

In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a neutral compound with no net electric charge. The constituent ions are held together by electrostatic forces termed ionic bonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ununennium</span> Chemical element, symbol Uue and atomic number 119

Ununennium, also known as eka-francium or element 119, is a hypothetical chemical element; it has symbol Uue and atomic number 119. Ununennium and Uue are the temporary systematic IUPAC name and symbol respectively, which are used until the element is discovered, confirmed, and a permanent name is decided upon. In the periodic table of the elements, it is expected to be an s-block element, an alkali metal, and the first element in the eighth period. It is the lightest element that has not yet been synthesized.

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Scandium(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula ScCl3. It is a white, high-melting ionic compound, which is deliquescent and highly water-soluble. This salt is mainly of interest in the research laboratory. Both the anhydrous form and hexahydrate (ScCl3•6H2O) are commercially available.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexafluorophosphate</span> Anion with the chemical formula PF6–

Hexafluorophosphate is an anion with chemical formula of [PF6]. It is an octahedral species that imparts no color to its salts. [PF6] is isoelectronic with sulfur hexafluoride, SF6, and the hexafluorosilicate dianion, [SiF6]2−, and hexafluoroantimonate [SbF6]. In this anion, phosphorus has a valence of 5. Being poorly nucleophilic, hexafluorophosphate is classified as a non-coordinating anion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coprecipitation</span> Chemical process

In chemistry, coprecipitation (CPT) or co-precipitation is the carrying down by a precipitate of substances normally soluble under the conditions employed. Analogously, in medicine, coprecipitation is specifically "an assay designed to purify a single antigen from a complex mixture using a specific antibody attached to a beaded support".

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Perchloratoborate is an anion of the form [B(ClO4)4]. It can form partly stable solid salts with heavy alkali metals. They are more stable than nitratoborate salts. K[B(ClO4)4] decomposes at 35 °C, Rb[B(ClO4)4] is stable to 50 °C, and Cs[B(ClO4)4] can exist up to 80 °C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platinum tetrafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Platinum tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula PtF
4
. In the solid state, the compound features platinum(IV) in octahedral coordination geometry.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astatine compounds</span>

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Radium compounds are compounds containing the element radium (Ra). Due to radium's radioactivity, not many compounds have been well characterized. Solid radium compounds are white as radium ions provide no specific coloring, but they gradually turn yellow and then dark over time due to self-radiolysis from radium's alpha decay. Insoluble radium compounds coprecipitate with all barium, most strontium, and most lead compounds.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 E. N K. Hyde Radiochemistry of Francium, Subcommittee on Radiochemistry, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council; available from the Office of Technical Services, Dept. of Commerce, 1960.
  3. 1 2 3 Lavrukhina, Avgusta Konstantinovna; Pozdnyakov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (1970). Analytical Chemistry of Technetium, Promethium, Astatine, and Francium. Translated by R. Kondor. Ann Arbor–Humphrey Science Publishers. p. 269. ISBN   978-0-250-39923-9.
  4. Thayer, John S. (2010). "Relativistic Effects and the Chemistry of the Heavier Main Group Elements". Relativistic Methods for Chemists. Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics. Vol. 10. Springer. p. 81. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9975-5_2. ISBN   978-1-4020-9975-5.
  5. Cao, Chang-Su; Hu, Han-Shi; Schwarz, W. H. Eugen; Li, Jun (2022). "Periodic Law of Chemistry Overturns for Superheavy Elements". ChemRxiv (preprint). doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-l798p . Retrieved 16 November 2022.