Deuterium is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. The nucleus of a deuterium atom, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common protium has no neutrons in the nucleus. Deuterium has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom of deuterium among all 6420 atoms of hydrogen. Thus deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% by number of all the naturally occurring hydrogen in the oceans, while protium accounts for more than 99.98%. The abundance of deuterium changes slightly from one kind of natural water to another.
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula H2. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, and highly combustible. Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe, constituting roughly 75% of all normal matter. Stars such as the Sun are mainly composed of hydrogen in the plasma state. Most of the hydrogen on Earth exists in molecular forms such as water and organic compounds. For the most common isotope of hydrogen each atom has one proton, one electron, and no neutrons.
Heavy water is a form of water that contains only deuterium rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope that makes up most of the hydrogen in normal water. The presence of the heavier hydrogen isotope gives the water different nuclear properties, and the increase in mass gives it slightly different physical and chemical properties when compared to normal water.
In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood.
Light water or Lightwater may refer to:
The self-ionization of water (also autoionization of water, and autodissociation 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.
In physical organic chemistry, a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) is the change in the reaction rate of a chemical reaction when one of the atoms in the reactants is replaced by one of its isotopes. Formally, it is the ratio of rate constants for the reactions involving the light (kL) and the heavy (kH) isotopically substituted reactants (isotopologues):
Hydrogen (1H) has three naturally occurring isotopes, sometimes denoted 1
H
, 2
H
, and 3
H
. 1
H
and 2
H
are stable, while 3
H
has a half-life of 12.32(2) years. Heavier isotopes also exist, all of which are synthetic and have a half-life of less than one zeptosecond (10−21 s). Of these, 5
H
is the least stable, while 7
H
is the most.
In chemistry, isotopologues are molecules that differ only in their isotopic composition. They have the same chemical formula and bonding arrangement of atoms, but at least one atom has a different number of neutrons than the parent.
Tritiated water is a radioactive form of water in which the usual protium atoms are replaced with tritium. In its pure form it may be called tritium oxide (T2O or 3H2O) or super-heavy water. Pure T2O is corrosive due to self-radiolysis. Diluted, tritiated water is mainly H2O plus some HTO (3HOH). It is also used as a tracer for water transport studies in life-science research. Furthermore, since it naturally occurs in minute quantities, it can be used to determine the age of various water-based liquids, such as vintage wines.
The origin of water on Earth is the subject of a body of research in the fields of planetary science, astronomy, and astrobiology. Earth is unique among the rocky planets in the Solar System in that it is the only planet known to have oceans of liquid water on its surface. Liquid water, which is necessary for life as we know it, continues to exist on the surface of Earth because the planet is at a distance, known as the habitable zone, far enough from the Sun that it does not lose its water, but not so far that low temperatures cause all water on the planet to freeze.
In chemistry, the hydron, informally called proton, is the cationic form of atomic hydrogen, represented with the symbol H+
. The general term "hydron", endorsed by the IUPAC, encompasses cations of hydrogen regardless of their isotopic composition: thus it refers collectively to protons (1H+) for the protium isotope, deuterons (2H+ or D+) for the deuterium isotope, and tritons (3H+ or T+) for the tritium isotope.
Deuterated chloroform, also known as chloroform-d, is the organic compound with the formula C2HCl3 or CDCl3. Deuterated chloroform is a common solvent used in NMR spectroscopy. The properties of CDCl3 and ordinary CHCl3 are virtually identical.
Hydrogen deuteride is a diatomic molecule substance or compound of two isotopes of hydrogen: the majority isotope 1H (protium) and 2H (deuterium). Its proper molecular formula is H2H, but for simplification, it is usually written as HD.
Water is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, which is nearly colorless apart from an inherent hint of blue. It is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as the "universal solvent" and the "solvent of life". It is the most abundant substance on the surface of Earth and the only common substance to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas on Earth's surface. It is also the third most abundant molecule in the universe.
Deuterium-depleted water (DDW) is water which has a lower concentration of deuterium than occurs naturally at sea level on Earth.
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.
Hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry is the scientific study of biological, geological, and chemical processes in the environment using the distribution and relative abundance of hydrogen isotopes. There are two stable isotopes of hydrogen, protium 1H and deuterium 2H, which vary in relative abundance on the order of hundreds of permil. The ratio between these two species can be considered the hydrogen isotopic fingerprint of a substance. Understanding isotopic fingerprints and the sources of fractionation that lead to variation between them can be applied to address a diverse array of questions ranging from ecology and hydrology to geochemistry and paleoclimate reconstructions. Since specialized techniques are required to measure natural hydrogen isotope abundance ratios, the field of hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry provides uniquely specialized tools to more traditional fields like ecology and geochemistry.
Isotope effect is observed when molecules containing heavier isotopes of the same atoms are engaged in a chemical reaction at a slower rate. Deuterium-reinforced lipids can be used for the protection of living cells by slowing the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation. The lipid bilayer of the cell and organelle membranes contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are key components of cell and organelle membranes. Any process that either increases oxidation of PUFAs or hinders their ability to be replaced can lead to serious disease. Correspondingly, drugs that stop the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation have preventive and therapeutic potential.
Ice XVII is a metastable form of ice with a hexagonal structure and helical channels that was discovered in 2016. It can be formed by freezing water with hydrogen molecules at high pressure to form a filled ice, and then removing the hydrogen molecules from the structure. The form has potential for being used in hydrogen storage. Ice XVII made from heavy water can also be reduced to pure cubic ice.
