Hydrogen polyoxide

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Chemical structure of water, the simplest hydrogen polyoxide H2O.svg
Chemical structure of water, the simplest hydrogen polyoxide

Hydrogen polyoxides (also known as oxidanes, oxohydrogens, or oxyhydrogens) are chemical compounds that consist only of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, are bonded exclusively by single bonds (i.e., they are saturated), and are acyclic (have molecular structures containing no cycles or loops). They can, therefore, be classed as hydrogen chalcogenides.

Contents

The simplest possible stable hydrogen polyoxide (the parent molecule) is water, H2O. The general structure of the class of molecules is some number of oxygen atoms single-bonded to each other in a chain. The oxygen atom at each end of this oxygen skeleton is attached to a hydrogen atom. Thus, these compounds form a homologous series with chemical formula H
2
O
n
in which the members differ by a constant relative molecular mass of 16 (the mass of each additional oxygen atom). The number of oxygen atoms is used to define the size of the hydrogen polyoxide (e.g., hydrogen pentoxide contains a five-oxygen backbone).

An oxidanyl group is a functional group or side-chain analog of hydrogen polyoxide that is attached to some structure other than just a hydrogen atom. Examples include the hydroxy (oxidyl) and hydroperoxy (dioxidanyl) groups.

Specific examples

HOn

Several molecules are known where one end of the polyoxide chain is protonated and the other is an unprotonated radical:

H2On

Neutral dihydrogen polyoxides containing up to five oxygen atoms have been produced experimentally.

Hydrogen polyoxides containing up to 10 oxygen atoms have been studied theoretically, but those containing more than five oxygens are expected to be extremely unstable. [3]

H3On

Ionization

All the hydrogen polyoxides are known or expected to autoionise when in liquid form, with the acidic hydrogen being solvated by other of the neutral polyoxide molecules.

H2On H+ + HO
n
2 H2OnH
3
O+
n
+ HO
n

The ions can also be formed by protonation or deprotonation of various neutral hydrogen polyoxide by suitably strong other acids or bases. Specific ions include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid</span> Chemical compound giving a proton or accepting an electron pair

An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen ion, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen peroxide</span> Chemical compound

Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula H2O2. In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution in water for consumer use, and in higher concentrations for industrial use. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or "high-test peroxide", decomposes explosively when heated and has been used both as a monopropellant and an oxidizer in rocketry.

In chemistry, hydronium (hydroxonium in traditional British English) is the common name for the aqueous cation H3O+, the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water. It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is dissolved in water, as Arrhenius acid molecules in solution give up a proton (a positive hydrogen ion, H+) to the surrounding water molecules (H2O). In fact, acids must be surrounded by more than a single water molecule in order to ionize, yielding aqueous H+ and conjugate base. Three main structures for the aqueous proton have garnered experimental support: the Eigen cation, which is a tetrahydrate, H3O+(H2O)3, the Zundel cation, which is a symmetric dihydrate, H+(H2O)2, and the Stoyanov cation, an expanded Zundel cation, which is a hexahydrate: H+(H2O)2(H2O)4. Spectroscopic evidence from well-defined IR spectra overwhelmingly supports the Stoyanov cation as the predominant form. For this reason, it has been suggested that wherever possible, the symbol H+(aq) should be used instead of the hydronium ion.

The self-ionization of water (also autoionization of water, and autodissociation of water, or simply dissociation of water) is an ionization reaction in pure water or in an aqueous solution, in which a water molecule, H2O, deprotonates (loses the nucleus of one of its hydrogen atoms) to become a hydroxide ion, OH. The hydrogen nucleus, H+, immediately protonates another water molecule to form a hydronium cation, H3O+. It is an example of autoprotolysis, and exemplifies the amphoteric nature of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydroxyl radical</span> Neutral form of the hydroxide ion (OH−)

The hydroxyl radical is the diatomic molecule
OH
. The hydroxyl radical is very stable as a dilute gas, but it decays very rapidly in the condensed phase. It is pervasive in some situations. Most notably the hydroxyl radicals are produced from the decomposition of hydroperoxides (ROOH) or, in atmospheric chemistry, by the reaction of excited atomic oxygen with water. It is also important in the field of radiation chemistry, since it leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen, which can enhance corrosion and SCC in coolant systems subjected to radioactive environments. The unpaired electron of the hydroxyl radical is officially represented by a middle dot, •, beside the O.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organic peroxides</span> Organic compounds of the form R–O–O–R’

In organic chemistry, organic peroxides are organic compounds containing the peroxide functional group. If the R′ is hydrogen, the compounds are called hydroperoxides, which are discussed in that article. The O−O bond of peroxides easily breaks, producing free radicals of the form RO. Thus, organic peroxides are useful as initiators for some types of polymerization, such as the acrylic, unsaturated polyester, and vinyl ester resins used in glass-reinforced plastics. MEKP and benzoyl peroxide are commonly used for this purpose. However, the same property also means that organic peroxides can explosively combust. Organic peroxides, like their inorganic counterparts, are often powerful bleaching agents.

Radiolysis is the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation. It is the cleavage of one or several chemical bonds resulting from exposure to high-energy flux. The radiation in this context is associated with ionizing radiation; radiolysis is therefore distinguished from, for example, photolysis of the Cl2 molecule into two Cl-radicals, where (ultraviolet or visible spectrum) light is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydroperoxide</span> Class of chemical compounds

Hydroperoxides or peroxols are compounds of the form ROOH, which contain the hydroperoxy functional group (–OOH). The hydroperoxide anion and the neutral hydroperoxyl radical (HOO·) consist of an unbond hydroperoxy group. When R is organic, the compounds are called organic hydroperoxides. Such compounds are a subset of organic peroxides, which have the formula ROOR. Organic hydroperoxides can either intentionally or unintentionally initiate explosive polymerisation in materials with unsaturated chemical bonds.

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

Trioxidane, also called hydrogen trioxide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula H[O]
3
H
. It is one of the unstable hydrogen polyoxides. In aqueous solutions, trioxidane decomposes to form water and singlet oxygen:

The Haber–Weiss reaction generates •OH (hydroxyl radicals) from H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) and superoxide (•O2) catalyzed by iron ions. It was first proposed by Fritz Haber and his student Joseph Joshua Weiss in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photoinitiator</span> Molecule which creates reactive species when exposed to radiation

In chemistry, a photoinitiator is a molecule that creates reactive species when exposed to radiation. Synthetic photoinitiators are key components in photopolymers.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), in a broad sense, are a set of chemical treatment procedures designed to remove organic (and sometimes inorganic) materials in water and wastewater by oxidation through reactions with hydroxyl radicals (·OH). In real-world applications of wastewater treatment, however, this term usually refers more specifically to a subset of such chemical processes that employ ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and/or UV light.

Dioxygen plays an important role in the energy metabolism of living organisms. Free oxygen is produced in the biosphere through photolysis of water during photosynthesis in cyanobacteria, green algae, and plants. During oxidative phosphorylation in cellular respiration, oxygen is reduced to water, thus closing the biological water-oxygen redox cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromium(VI) oxide peroxide</span> Chemical compound

Chromium(VI) peroxide or chromium oxide peroxide is an unstable compound with the formula CrO5. This compound contains one oxo ligand and two peroxo ligands, making a total of five oxygen atoms per chromium atom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dioxidanylium</span> Ion

Dioxidanylium, which is protonated molecular oxygen, or just protonated oxygen, is an ion with formula HO+
2
. It is formed when hydrogen containing substances combust, and exists in the ionosphere, and in plasmas that contain oxygen and hydrogen. Oxidation by O2 in superacids could be by way of the production of protonated molecular oxygen.

Hydrogen chalcogenides are binary compounds of hydrogen with chalcogen atoms. Water, the first chemical compound in this series, contains one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, and is the most common compound on the Earth's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal peroxide</span>

Metal peroxides are metal-containing compounds with ionically- or covalently-bonded peroxide (O2−
2
) groups. This large family of compounds can be divided into ionic and covalent peroxide. The first class mostly contains the peroxides of the alkali and alkaline earth metals whereas the covalent peroxides are represented by such compounds as hydrogen peroxide and peroxymonosulfuric acid (H2SO5). In contrast to the purely ionic character of alkali metal peroxides, peroxides of transition metals have a more covalent character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen ozonide</span> Chemical compound

Hydrogen ozonide is a radical molecule consisting of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to an ozonide unit.

Tetraoxidane is an inorganic compound of hydrogen and oxygen with the chemical formula H
2
O
4
. This is one of the unstable hydrogen polyoxides.

Pentaoxidane is an inorganic compound of hydrogen and oxygen with the chemical formula H2O5. This is one of the most unstable hydrogen polyoxides.

References

  1. 1 2 Levanov, Alexander V.; Sakharov, Dmitri V.; Dashkova, Anna V.; Antipenko, Ewald E.; Lunin, Valeri V. (2011). "Synthesis of Hydrogen Polyoxides H2O4 and H2O3 and Their Characterization by Raman Spectroscopy". European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. 2011 (33): 5144–5150. doi:10.1002/ejic.201100767.
  2. Xu, Xin; Goddard, William A. III (November 2002). "Peroxone chemistry: Formation of H2O3 and ring-(HO2)(HO3) from O3/H2O2". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 99 (24): 15308–15312. Bibcode:2002PNAS...9915308X. doi: 10.1073/pnas.202596799 . PMC   137712 . PMID   12438699.
  3. Martins-Costa, Marilia; Anglada, Josep M.; Ruiz-Lopez, Manuel F. (2011). "Structure, stability, and dynamics of hydrogen polyoxides". International Journal of Quantum Chemistry. 111 (7–8): 1543–1554. doi:10.1002/qua.22695.
  4. Huang, Peihao; Liu, Hanyu; Lv, Jian; Li, Quan; Long, Chunhong; Wang, Yanchao; Chen, Changfeng; Ma, Yanming (16 August 2019). "Metallic liquid H3O in a thin-shell zone inside Uranus and Neptune". arXiv: 1908.05821 [physics.comp-ph].