open
close

Chemical reactions of hydrogen. Chemical properties of halogens

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe. It is he who forms the basis of the combustible substance of the Stars.

Hydrogen is the first chemical element in the Periodic Table of Mendeleev. Its atom has the simplest structure: a single electron rotates around the elementary particle "proton" (nucleus of the atom):

Natural hydrogen consists of three isotopes: protium 1 H, deuterium 2 H and tritium 3 H.

Task 12.1. Indicate the structure of the nuclei of atoms of these isotopes.

Having one electron at the outer level, a hydrogen atom can exhibit the only possible valency I for it:

Question. Is a completed outer level formed when a hydrogen atom accepts electrons?

Thus, the hydrogen atom can both accept and give one electron, i.e., is a typical non-metal. AT any compounds a hydrogen atom one valentine.

The simple substance "hydrogen" H 2- colorless and odorless gas, very light. It is poorly soluble in water, but highly soluble in many metals. So, one volume of palladium Рd absorbs up to 900 volumes of hydrogen.

Scheme (1) shows that hydrogen can be both an oxidizing agent and a reducing agent, reacting with active metals and many non-metals:

Task 12.2. Determine in which reactions hydrogen is an oxidizing agent and in which it is a reducing agent. note that a hydrogen molecule is made up of two atoms.

A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is an "explosive gas", because when it is ignited, a strong explosion occurs, which claimed many lives. Therefore, experiments in which hydrogen is released must be performed away from fire.

Most often, hydrogen exhibits restorative properties, which is used in obtaining pure metals from their oxides *:

* Aluminum exhibits similar properties (see lesson 10 - aluminothermy).

A variety of reactions take place between hydrogen and organic compounds. So, due to the addition of hydrogen ( hydrogenation) liquid fats turn into solid ones (more on lesson 25).

Hydrogen can be obtained in various ways:

  • The interaction of metals with acids:

Task 12.3. aluminum, copper and zinc with hydrochloric acid. In what cases does the reaction not take place? Why? In case of difficulty, see lessons 2.2 and 8.3;

  • Interaction of active metals with water:

Task 12.4. Write equations for such reactions for sodium, barium, aluminum, iron, lead. In what cases does the reaction not take place? Why? In case of difficulty, see lesson 8.3.

On an industrial scale, hydrogen is obtained by electrolysis of water:

as well as when passing water vapor through hot iron filings:

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It makes up most of the mass of stars and is involved in thermonuclear fusion - the source of energy that these stars radiate.

Oxygen

Oxygen is the most common chemical element on our planet: more than half of the atoms in the Earth's crust are oxygen. The substance oxygen O 2 is about 1/5 of our atmosphere, and the chemical element oxygen is 8/9 of the hydrosphere (the oceans).

In the Periodic system of Mendeleev, oxygen has serial number 8 and is in group VI of the second period. Therefore, the structure of the oxygen atom is as follows:

Having 6 electrons at the outer level, oxygen is a typical non-metal, i.e., it attaches two electron until the completion of the outer level:

Therefore, oxygen in its compounds exhibits valence II and oxidation state –2 (excluding peroxides).

By accepting electrons, the oxygen atom exhibits the properties of an oxidizing agent. This property of oxygen is extremely important: oxidation processes occur during respiration, metabolism; oxidation processes occur during the combustion of simple and complex substances.

Combustion - oxidation of simple and complex substances accompanied by the release of light and heat. Almost all metals and non-metals burn or oxidize in an oxygen atmosphere. In this case, oxides are formed:

* More precisely, Fe 3 O 4 .

When burning in oxygen complex substances oxides are formed chemical elements, included in the original substance. Only nitrogen and halogens are emitted as simple substances:

The second of these reactions is used as a source of heat and energy in everyday life and industry, since methane CH 4 included in natural gas.

Oxygen makes it possible to intensify many industrial and biological processes. In large quantities, oxygen is obtained from the air, as well as by the electrolysis of water (as well as hydrogen). In small quantities, it can be obtained by the decomposition of complex substances:

Task 12.5. Arrange the coefficients in the reaction equations given here.

Water

Water cannot be replaced by anything - this is how it differs from almost all other substances that are found on our planet. Water can only be replaced by water itself. There is no life without water: after all, life on Earth arose when water appeared on it. Life originated in water because it is a natural universal solvent. It dissolves and, therefore, grinds all the necessary nutrients and provides them with the cells of living organisms. And as a result of grinding, the speed of chemical and biochemical reactions increases sharply. Moreover, without prior dissolution, 99.5% (199 out of every 200) reactions cannot occur! (See also Lesson 5.1.)

It is known that an adult person should receive 2.5–3 liters of water per day, the same amount is excreted from the body: that is, there is a water balance in the human body. If it is violated, a person can simply die. For example, a person's loss of only 1-2% of water causes thirst, and 5% increases body temperature due to a violation of thermoregulation: a heartbeat occurs, hallucinations occur. With the loss of 10% or more of water in the body, changes occur that may already be irreversible. The person will die of dehydration.

Water is a unique substance. Its boiling point should be -80 °C (!), but it is +100 °C. Why? Because between polar water molecules are formed hydrogen bonds:

Therefore, both ice and snow are loose, occupying a larger volume than liquid water. As a result, the ice rises to the surface of the water and protects the inhabitants of the reservoirs from freezing. Freshly fallen snow contains a lot of air and is an excellent heat insulator. If the snow covered the earth with a thick layer, then both animals and plants were saved from the most severe frosts.

In addition, water has a high heat capacity and is a kind of heat accumulator. Therefore, on the coasts of the seas and oceans, the climate is mild, and well-watered plants suffer less from frost than dry ones.

Impossible without water hydrolysis, a chemical reaction that necessarily accompanies the absorption of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, which are obligatory components of our food. As a result of hydrolysis, these complex organic substances decompose to low molecular weight substances, which, in fact, are absorbed by a living organism (for more details, see lessons 25–27). The processes of hydrolysis were discussed by us in lesson 6. Water reacts with many metals and non-metals, oxides, salts.

Task 12.6. Write reaction equations:

  1. sodium + water →
  2. chlorine + water →
  3. calcium oxide + water →
  4. sulfur oxide (IV) + water →
  5. zinc chloride + water →
  6. sodium silicate + water →

Does this change the reaction of the medium (pH)?

Water is product many reactions. For example, in a neutralization reaction and in many OVRs, water is necessarily formed.

Task 12.7. Write equations for such reactions.

findings

Hydrogen is the most common chemical element in the Universe, and oxygen is the most common chemical element on Earth. These substances exhibit opposite properties: hydrogen is a reducing agent, and oxygen is an oxidizing agent. Therefore, they easily react with each other, forming the most amazing and most common substance on Earth - water.

Hydrogen H is a chemical element, one of the most common in our Universe. The mass of hydrogen as an element in the composition of substances is 75% of the total content of atoms of another type. It is included in the most important and vital connection on the planet - water. Distinctive feature hydrogen is also the fact that it is the first element in the periodic system of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev.

Discovery and exploration

The first references to hydrogen in the writings of Paracelsus date back to the sixteenth century. But its isolation from gas mixture air and the study of combustible properties were already made in the seventeenth century by the scientist Lemery. Hydrogen was thoroughly studied by an English chemist, physicist and naturalist who experimentally proved that the mass of hydrogen is the smallest in comparison with other gases. In the subsequent stages of the development of science, many scientists worked with him, in particular Lavoisier, who called him "giving birth to water."

Characteristic according to the position in the PSCE

The element that opens the periodic table of D. I. Mendeleev is hydrogen. The physical and chemical properties of the atom show some duality, since the hydrogen is simultaneously assigned to the first group, the main subgroup, if it behaves like a metal and gives up a single electron in the process of a chemical reaction, and to the seventh - in the case of complete filling of the valence shell, that is, reception negative particle, which characterizes it as similar to halogens.

Features of the electronic structure of the element

The properties of the complex substances in which it is included, and the simplest substance H 2 are primarily determined by the electronic configuration of the hydrogen. The particle has one electron with Z= (-1), which rotates in its orbit around the nucleus, containing one proton with unit mass and positive charge (+1). Its electronic configuration is written as 1s 1, which means the presence of one negative particle in the very first and only s-orbital for the hydrogen.

When an electron is detached or given away, and an atom of this element has such a property that it is related to metals, a cation is obtained. In fact, the hydrogen ion is a positive elementary particle. Therefore, a hydrogen devoid of an electron is simply called a proton.

Physical properties

Briefly describing hydrogen, it is a colorless, slightly soluble gas with a relative atomic mass of 2, 14.5 times lighter than air, with a liquefaction temperature of -252.8 degrees Celsius.

It can be easily seen from experience that H2 is the lightest. To do this, it is enough to fill three balls with various substances - hydrogen, carbon dioxide, ordinary air - and simultaneously release them from your hand. The one that is filled with CO 2 will reach the ground faster than anyone, after which it will fall inflated with an air mixture, and the one containing H 2 will rise to the ceiling.

The small mass and size of hydrogen particles justify its ability to penetrate through various substances. On the example of the same ball, this is easy to verify, in a couple of days it will deflate itself, since the gas will simply pass through the rubber. Also, hydrogen can accumulate in the structure of some metals (palladium or platinum), and evaporate from it when the temperature rises.

The property of low solubility of hydrogen is used in laboratory practice to isolate it by the method of hydrogen displacement (the table below contains the main parameters) determine the scope of its application and methods of production.

Parameter of an atom or molecule of a simple substanceMeaning
Atomic mass (molar mass)1.008 g/mol
Electronic configuration1s 1
Crystal cellHexagonal
Thermal conductivity(300 K) 0.1815 W/(m K)
Density at n. y.0.08987 g/l
Boiling temperature-252.76°C
Specific heat of combustion120.9 10 6 J/kg
Melting temperature-259.2°C
Solubility in water18.8 ml/l

Isotopic composition

Like many other representatives of the periodic system of chemical elements, hydrogen has several natural isotopes, that is, atoms with the same number of protons in the nucleus, but different number neutrons - particles with zero charge and unit mass. Examples of atoms that have a similar property are oxygen, carbon, chlorine, bromine and others, including radioactive ones.

Physical properties hydrogen 1 H, the most common of the representatives of this group, differ significantly from the same characteristics of its counterparts. In particular, the characteristics of the substances in which they are included differ. So, there is ordinary and deuterated water, containing in its composition instead of a hydrogen atom with a single proton, deuterium 2 H - its isotope with two elementary particles: positive and uncharged. This isotope is twice as heavy as ordinary hydrogen, which explains the fundamental difference in the properties of the compounds they make up. In nature, deuterium is 3200 times rarer than hydrogen. The third representative is tritium 3 H, in the nucleus it has two neutrons and one proton.

Methods for obtaining and isolating

Laboratory and industrial methods are very different. So, in small quantities, gas is obtained mainly through reactions in which minerals, and large-scale production in more using organic synthesis.

The following chemical interactions are used in the laboratory:


In industrial interests, gas is obtained by such methods as:

  1. Thermal decomposition of methane in the presence of a catalyst to its constituent simple substances (350 degrees reaches the value of such an indicator as temperature) - hydrogen H 2 and carbon C.
  2. Passing vaporous water through coke at 1000 degrees Celsius to form carbon dioxide CO 2 and H 2 (the most common method).
  3. Conversion of gaseous methane on a nickel catalyst at a temperature reaching 800 degrees.
  4. Hydrogen is by-product in the electrolysis of aqueous solutions of potassium or sodium chlorides.

Chemical interactions: general provisions

The physical properties of hydrogen largely explain its behavior in reaction processes with one or another compound. The valency of the hydrogen is 1, since it is located in the first group in the periodic table, and the degree of oxidation shows a different one. In all compounds, except for hydrides, hydrogen in s.o. = (1+), in molecules like XH, XH 2, XH 3 - (1-).

The hydrogen gas molecule, formed by creating a generalized electron pair, consists of two atoms and is quite energetically stable, which is why when normal conditions somewhat inert and enters into reactions when normal conditions change. Depending on the degree of oxidation of hydrogen in the composition of other substances, it can act both as an oxidizing agent and a reducing agent.

Substances with which hydrogen reacts and forms

Elemental interactions to form complex substances (often at elevated temperatures):

  1. Alkaline and alkaline earth metal + hydrogen = hydride.
  2. Halogen + H 2 = hydrogen halide.
  3. Sulfur + hydrogen = hydrogen sulfide.
  4. Oxygen + H 2 = water.
  5. Carbon + hydrogen = methane.
  6. Nitrogen + H 2 = ammonia.

Interaction with complex substances:

  1. Obtaining synthesis gas from carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
  2. Recovery of metals from their oxides with H 2 .
  3. Hydrogen saturation of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons.

hydrogen bond

The physical properties of hydrogen are such that, when combined with an electronegative element, it allows it to form a special type of bond with the same atom from neighboring molecules that have unshared electron pairs (for example, oxygen, nitrogen and fluorine). The clearest example on which it is better to consider such a phenomenon is water. It can be said that it is stitched with hydrogen bonds, which are weaker than covalent or ionic ones, but due to the fact that there are many of them, they have a significant effect on the properties of the substance. Essentially, hydrogen bonding is an electrostatic interaction that binds water molecules into dimers and polymers, giving rise to its high boiling point.

Hydrogen in the composition of mineral compounds

Included in all inorganic acids includes a proton - a cation of an atom such as hydrogen. A substance whose acid residue has an oxidation state greater than (-1) is called a polybasic compound. It contains several hydrogen atoms, which makes dissociation into aqueous solutions multistage. Each subsequent proton breaks away from the rest of the acid more and more difficult. According to the quantitative content of hydrogens in the medium, its acidity is determined.

Application in human activities

Cylinders with a substance, as well as containers with other liquefied gases, such as oxygen, have a specific appearance. They are painted dark green with a bright red "Hydrogen" lettering. Gas is pumped into a cylinder under a pressure of about 150 atmospheres. The physical properties of hydrogen, in particular the lightness of the gaseous state of aggregation, are used to fill balloons, balloons, etc. mixed with helium.

Hydrogen, the physical and chemical properties of which people learned to use many years ago, is currently used in many industries. Most of it goes to the production of ammonia. Hydrogen also participates in (hafnium, germanium, gallium, silicon, molybdenum, tungsten, zirconium and others) from oxides, acting in the reaction as a reducing agent, hydrocyanic and hydrochloric acids, as well as artificial liquid fuel. The food industry uses it to convert vegetable oils into solid fats.

We determined the chemical properties and use of hydrogen in various processes of hydrogenation and hydrogenation of fats, coals, hydrocarbons, oils and fuel oil. With the help of it, precious stones, incandescent lamps are produced, metal products are forged and welded under the influence of an oxygen-hydrogen flame.

§3. Reaction equation and how to write it

Interaction hydrogen with oxygen, as Sir Henry Cavendish established, leads to the formation of water. Let's get on with it simple example learn how to compose equations of chemical reactions.
What comes from hydrogen and oxygen, we already know:

H 2 + O 2 → H 2 O

Now we take into account that the atoms of chemical elements in chemical reactions do not disappear and do not appear from nothing, do not turn into each other, but combine in new combinations to form new molecules. This means that in the equation of the chemical reaction of atoms of each type there must be the same number before reactions ( left from the equal sign) and after the end of the reaction ( on right from the equal sign), like this:

2H 2 + O 2 \u003d 2H 2 O

That's what it is reaction equation - conditional record of an ongoing chemical reaction using formulas of substances and coefficients.

This means that in the above reaction two moles hydrogen should react with by one mole oxygen, and the result will be two moles water.

Interaction hydrogen with oxygen- not a simple process at all. It leads to a change in the oxidation states of these elements. To select coefficients in such equations, one usually uses the method " electronic balance".

When water is formed from hydrogen and oxygen, this means that hydrogen changed its oxidation state from 0 before +I, a oxygen- from 0 before −II. At the same time, several (n) electrons:

Hydrogen donating electrons serves here reducing agent, and oxygen accepting electrons - oxidizing agent.

Oxidizing and reducing agents


Now let's see how the processes of giving and receiving electrons look like separately. Hydrogen, having met with the "robber" - oxygen, loses all its property - two electrons, and its oxidation state becomes equal to +I:

H 2 0 − 2 e− = 2Н + I

Happened oxidation half-reaction equation hydrogen.

And the bandit oxygen About 2, having taken away the last electrons from the unfortunate hydrogen, is very pleased with his new degree oxidation -II:

O 2 + 4 e− = 2O − II

This is reduction half-reaction equation oxygen.

It remains to add that both the "bandit" and his "victim" have lost their chemical identity and from simple substances - gases with diatomic molecules H 2 and About 2 turned into components of a new chemical substance - water H 2 O.

Further, we will argue as follows: how many electrons the reductant gave to the oxidizing bandit, that is how much he received. The number of electrons donated by the reducing agent must be equal to the number of electrons accepted by the oxidizing agent..

So you need equalize the number of electrons in the first and second half-reactions. In chemistry, the following conditional form of writing the equations of half-reactions is accepted:

2 H 2 0 − 2 e− = 2Н + I

1 O 2 0 + 4 e− = 2O − II

Here, the numbers 2 and 1 to the left of the curly bracket are factors that will help ensure that the number of given and received electrons is equal. We take into account that in the equations of half-reactions 2 electrons are given away, and 4 are accepted. To equalize the number of received and given electrons, the least common multiple and additional factors are found. In our case, the least common multiple is 4. Additional factors will be 2 for hydrogen (4: 2 = 2), and for oxygen - 1 (4: 4 = 1)
The resulting multipliers will serve as the coefficients of the future reaction equation:

2H 2 0 + O 2 0 \u003d 2H 2 + I O -II

Hydrogen oxidized not only when meeting oxygen. Approximately the same effect on hydrogen and fluorine F2, halogen and the famous "robber", and seemingly harmless nitrogen N 2:

H 2 0 + F 2 0 = 2H + I F −I


3H 2 0 + N 2 0 \u003d 2N -III H 3 + I

This results in hydrogen fluoride HF or ammonia NH3.

In both compounds, the oxidation state hydrogen becomes equal +I, because he gets partners in the molecule "greedy" for someone else's electronic good, with high electronegativity - fluorine F and nitrogen N. At nitrogen the value of electronegativity is considered equal to three conventional units, and y fluorine in general, the highest electronegativity among all chemical elements is four units. So it's no wonder they leave the poor hydrogen atom without any electronic environment.

But hydrogen maybe restore- accept electrons. This happens if alkali metals or calcium, in which the electronegativity is less than that of hydrogen, participate in the reaction with it.

Chemical properties hydrogen

Under normal conditions, molecular Hydrogen is relatively inactive, combining directly with only the most active nonmetals (with fluorine, and in the light also with chlorine). However, when heated, it reacts with many elements.

Hydrogen reacts with simple and complex substances:

- Interaction of hydrogen with metals leads to the formation of complex substances - hydrides, in the chemical formulas of which the metal atom always comes first:


At high temperature Hydrogen reacts directly with some metals(alkaline, alkaline earth and others), forming white crystalline substances - metal hydrides (Li H, Na H, KH, CaH 2, etc.):

H 2 + 2Li = 2LiH

Metal hydrides are easily decomposed by water with the formation of the corresponding alkali and hydrogen:

Sa H 2 + 2H 2 O \u003d Ca (OH) 2 + 2H 2

- When hydrogen interacts with non-metals volatile hydrogen compounds are formed. AT chemical formula volatile hydrogen compound, the hydrogen atom can be either in the first or in the second place, depending on the location in the PSCE (see the plate in the slide):

1). With oxygen Hydrogen forms water:

Video "Combustion of hydrogen"

2H 2 + O 2 \u003d 2H 2 O + Q

At ordinary temperatures, the reaction proceeds extremely slowly, above 550 ° C - with an explosion (a mixture of 2 volumes of H 2 and 1 volume of O 2 is called explosive gas) .

Video "Explosion of explosive gas"

Video "Preparation and explosion of an explosive mixture"

2). With halogens Hydrogen forms hydrogen halides, for example:

H 2 + Cl 2 \u003d 2HCl

Hydrogen explodes with fluorine (even in the dark and at -252°C), reacts with chlorine and bromine only when illuminated or heated, and with iodine only when heated.

3). With nitrogen Hydrogen reacts with the formation of ammonia:

ZN 2 + N 2 \u003d 2NH 3

only on a catalyst and at elevated temperatures and pressures.

4). When heated, hydrogen reacts vigorously with sulfur:

H 2 + S \u003d H 2 S (hydrogen sulfide),

much more difficult with selenium and tellurium.

5). with pure carbon Hydrogen can react without a catalyst only at high temperatures:

2H 2 + C (amorphous) = CH 4 (methane)


- Hydrogen enters into a substitution reaction with metal oxides , while water is formed in the products and the metal is reduced. Hydrogen - exhibits the properties of a reducing agent:


Hydrogen is used for the recovery of many metals, since it takes away oxygen from their oxides:

Fe 3 O 4 + 4H 2 \u003d 3Fe + 4H 2 O, etc.

Application of hydrogen

Video "Use of hydrogen"

Currently, hydrogen is produced in huge quantities. A very large part of it is used in the synthesis of ammonia, the hydrogenation of fats and the hydrogenation of coal, oils and hydrocarbons. In addition, hydrogen is used for the synthesis of hydrochloric acid, methyl alcohol, hydrocyanic acid, in welding and forging metals, as well as in the manufacture of incandescent lamps and precious stones. Hydrogen goes on sale in cylinders under pressure over 150 atm. They are painted dark green and are supplied with a red inscription "Hydrogen".

Hydrogen is used to convert liquid fats into solid fats (hydrogenation), to produce liquid fuels by hydrogenating coal and fuel oil. In metallurgy, hydrogen is used as a reducing agent for oxides or chlorides to produce metals and non-metals (germanium, silicon, gallium, zirconium, hafnium, molybdenum, tungsten, etc.).

The practical application of hydrogen is diverse: it is usually filled with balloons, in the chemical industry it serves as a raw material for the production of many very important products (ammonia, etc.), in the food industry - for the production of solid fats from vegetable oils, etc. High temperature (up to 2600 °C), obtained by burning hydrogen in oxygen, is used to melt refractory metals, quartz, etc. Liquid hydrogen is one of the most efficient jet fuels. The annual world consumption of hydrogen exceeds 1 million tons.

SIMULATORS

No. 2. Hydrogen

TASKS FOR REINFORCEMENT

Task number 1
Make up the equations for the reactions of the interaction of hydrogen with the following substances: F 2 , Ca, Al 2 O 3 , mercury oxide (II), tungsten oxide (VI). Name the reaction products, indicate the types of reactions.

Task number 2
Carry out the transformations according to the scheme:
H 2 O -> H 2 -> H 2 S -> SO 2

Task number 3.
Calculate the mass of water that can be obtained by burning 8 g of hydrogen?

Let's take a look at what hydrogen is. The chemical properties and production of this non-metal are studied in the course of inorganic chemistry at school. It is this element that heads the periodic system of Mendeleev, and therefore deserves a detailed description.

Brief information about opening an element

Before considering the physical and chemical properties of hydrogen, let's find out how this important element was found.

Chemists who worked in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries repeatedly mentioned in their writings the combustible gas that is released when acids are exposed to active metals. In the second half of the eighteenth century, G. Cavendish managed to collect and analyze this gas, giving it the name "combustible gas".

The physical and chemical properties of hydrogen at that time were not studied. Only at the end of the eighteenth century, A. Lavoisier managed to establish by analysis that this gas can be obtained by analyzing water. A little later, he began to call the new element hydrogene, which means "giving birth to water." Hydrogen owes its modern Russian name to M.F. Solovyov.

Being in nature

The chemical properties of hydrogen can only be analyzed based on its abundance in nature. This element is present in the hydro- and lithosphere, and is also part of minerals: natural and associated gas, peat, oil, coal, oil shale. It is difficult to imagine an adult who would not know that hydrogen is an integral part of water.

In addition, this non-metal is found in animal organisms in the form nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, fats. On our planet, this element is found in free form quite rarely, perhaps only in natural and volcanic gas.

In the form of plasma, hydrogen makes up about half the mass of stars and the Sun, and is also part of the interstellar gas. For example, in free form, as well as in the form of methane, ammonia, this non-metal is present in comets and even some planets.

Physical properties

Before considering the chemical properties of hydrogen, we note that under normal conditions it is a gaseous substance lighter than air, having several isotopic forms. It is almost insoluble in water and has a high thermal conductivity. Protium, which has a mass number of 1, is considered its lightest form. Tritium, which has radioactive properties, is formed in nature from atmospheric nitrogen when neurons expose it to UV rays.

Features of the structure of the molecule

To consider the chemical properties of hydrogen, the reactions characteristic of it, let us dwell on the features of its structure. This diatomic molecule has a covalent non-polar chemical bond. The formation of atomic hydrogen is possible when active metals interact with acid solutions. But in this form, this non-metal is able to exist only for an insignificant time period, almost immediately it recombines into a molecular form.

Chemical properties

Consider the chemical properties of hydrogen. In most of the compounds that this chemical element forms, it exhibits an oxidation state of +1, which makes it similar to active (alkali) metals. The main chemical properties of hydrogen, characterizing it as a metal:

  • interaction with oxygen to form water;
  • reaction with halogens, accompanied by the formation of hydrogen halide;
  • production of hydrogen sulfide when combined with sulfur.

Below is the reaction equation that characterizes the chemical properties of hydrogen. We draw attention to the fact that as a non-metal (with an oxidation state of -1), it acts only in the reaction with active metals, forming the corresponding hydrides with them.

Hydrogen at ordinary temperature does not actively interact with other substances, so most of the reactions are carried out only after preheating.

Let us dwell in more detail on some chemical interactions of the element that heads the periodic system of chemical elements of Mendeleev.

The reaction of water formation is accompanied by the release of 285.937 kJ of energy. At elevated temperature(more than 550 degrees Celsius) this process is accompanied by a strong explosion.

Among those chemical properties of gaseous hydrogen that have found significant application in industry, its interaction with metal oxides is of interest. It is by catalytic hydrogenation in modern industry that metal oxides are processed, for example, pure metal is isolated from iron scale (mixed iron oxide). This method allows for efficient processing of scrap metal.

The synthesis of ammonia, which involves the interaction of hydrogen with atmospheric nitrogen, is also in demand in the modern chemical industry. Among the conditions for the occurrence of this chemical interaction, we note pressure and temperature.

Conclusion

It is hydrogen that is inactive chemical under normal conditions. As the temperature rises, its activity increases significantly. This substance is in demand in organic synthesis. For example, by hydrogenation, ketones can be reduced to secondary alcohols, and aldehydes can be converted to primary alcohols. In addition, by hydrogenation, unsaturated hydrocarbons of the ethylene and acetylene classes can be converted into saturated compounds of the methane series. Hydrogen is rightly considered a simple substance in demand in modern chemical production.