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Chapter 19 Notes - Nuclear Chemistry

This document provides an overview of nuclear chemistry, including: - Atomic symbols and isotopes are reviewed. Radioactivity involves changes within atomic nuclei through processes like alpha, beta, and gamma decay. - Applications of radioactivity include uses in medicine for cancer therapy and imaging, chemical analysis techniques like neutron activation analysis, and commercial uses like smoke detectors and food sterilization. - The rate of radioactive decay follows first-order kinetics and can be described using equations involving the half-life, rate constant, and activity. Carbon-14 dating is based on the known decay rate of carbon-14 and can be used to determine the age of organic material.

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David Staines
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451 views

Chapter 19 Notes - Nuclear Chemistry

This document provides an overview of nuclear chemistry, including: - Atomic symbols and isotopes are reviewed. Radioactivity involves changes within atomic nuclei through processes like alpha, beta, and gamma decay. - Applications of radioactivity include uses in medicine for cancer therapy and imaging, chemical analysis techniques like neutron activation analysis, and commercial uses like smoke detectors and food sterilization. - The rate of radioactive decay follows first-order kinetics and can be described using equations involving the half-life, rate constant, and activity. Carbon-14 dating is based on the known decay rate of carbon-14 and can be used to determine the age of organic material.

Uploaded by

David Staines
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 19 Nuclear Chemistry

I. Introduction
a. ordinary chemical reactions, as discussed in the previous
chapters, involve changes in the outer electron structures of
atoms or molecules.
b. Nuclear reactions result in changes taking place within the
atomic nuclei.
c. Atomic Symbols A Review
i. Examples
12
6

This atom has 6 protons, 6 electrons, and since the


C atomic
number is 12, then it has 6 neutrons.

14
6

atom has 6 protons, 6 electrons, however, since


C This
the atomic number is 14, then it has 8 neutrons.

ii. Nuclei with the same number of protons, but a different


number of neutrons are called isotopes.
II. Radioactivity
a. An atom with a radioactive nucleus will spontaneously
decompose, or decay.
b. Energy is given off as the atoms nucleus decays.
c. Natural radioactivity some (very few) atoms are naturally
radioactive; the nuclei decomposes on their own, without
outside influences.
d. Artificial radioactivity - many atoms can be made to be
radioactive in the laboratory by bombarding stable nuclei
with high-energy particles.

e. Modes of decay naturally occurring radioactive nuclei


commonly decompose by the following modes.
i. Alpha particle emission an ordinary helium nucleus, 42 He
is given off.
1. Example: Uranium-238
238
92

4
2

U " He +

234
90

Th

2. When a nucleus decays by alpha emission, the mass


number decreases by 4, whereas the atomic number
! decrease by 2; consistent with the loss of a helium
particle.
ii. Beta particle emission produces an electron, given the
0
symbol "1 e .
1. Example
!

234
90

Th " -10e +

234
91

Pa

2. Notice that the product nucleus, 23491Pa , has the same


234
mass number as the reactant, 90Th , but its atomic
! number is one unit larger.
!

iii. Gamma radiation emission which consists of high


!
energy photons. Because gamma emission changes neither
the mass number nor the atomic number.

f. Modes of decay - artificial radioactive decay produces emissions, -emissions, and -emissions when bombarded
with high-energy particles.
i. Positron emission a positron is identical to an electron
except that it has a charge of +1 rather than -1. The
0
symbol for a positron is 1 e .
40
19

K " +10e +

40
18

Ar

! an electron in the innermost energy


ii. K-electron capture
level (n=1) falls into the nucleus.

82
37

Rb " -10e +

82
36

Kr

1. Electron capture is more common with heavy nuclei,


presumably because the n=1 level is closer to the
! nucleus.
2. Notice that the result of K-electron capture is the
same as positron emission; the mass number remains
unchanged whereas atomic number decreases by one
unit.
g. Example: Promethium exists as two isotopes, 142
61 Pm and
147
61 Pm , and is essentially nonexisitent in nature. All isotopes
are radioactive. Write the balanced equations for the
decomposition of
!
142
a. 61 Pm by positron emission; by K-electron capture.

142
61

b.

147
61

Pm " 01e +

142
60

Nd |

Pm " -10e +

142
60

Nd

Pm by beta emission.
147
61

!
3

142
61

Pm " 01e +

142
62

Sm

h. Bombardment Reactions
i. Bombardment reactions are utilized to prepare radioactive
isotopes.
ii. Bombarding the nucleus of an atom with a stable nucleus
will cause a radioactive nucleus to form.
iii. The newly formed radioactive nucleus will in turn decay
to form stable products.
iv. There are more than 1500 radioactive isotopes have been
prepared in the lab.
v. The number of isotopes per element range from 1
(hydrogen and boron) to 34 (indium).
vi. Types of bombarding particles
a) A neutron (produced from a nuclear fission reaction,
to be discussed later in this chapter).
1. Example A stable aluminum atom is bombarded by
neutrons.
27
13

Al + 01n " 28
13 Al

the product nucleus, Al-28, is radioactive, which


decays by beta emission.

28
13

28
Al " 14
Si + -10e

b) A charged particle (for example, electron, positron,


alpha particle) which can be accelerated to high
velocities in electric and/or magnetic fields.
1. This added velocity allows the charged particle to
acquire enough energy to cause a nuclear reaction.
2. Without the added acceleration, the charge particle
would be repelled by the charged components of the
atom.
3. The first laboratory-prepared
radioactive isotopes were made
in 1934 by Irene Curie and her
husband, Frederic Joliot. They
bombarded stable isotopes with
high-energy alpha particles.
One example of their reactions
27
13

1
Al + 42 He " 30
P
+
15
0n

The product, Phosphorous-30, is radioactive,


decaying by positron emission.

30
15

30
P " 14
Si + 01e

Transuranium elements those


elements with atomic numbers
greater than Uranium (92) have been
synthesized in the lab.

i. Applications
1. Medicine
a. Radioactive isotopes are used in
cancer therapy to eliminate
malignant cells left after
surgery.
b. Cobalt-60, a gamma-ray emitter
!
(energy only) is focused on a
small area where cancer is !
suspected.
!

c. Thyroid cancer can be treated


with radioisotopes of iodine
!
131
I or 123 I , since iodine moves
!
toward the thyroid gland when
taken into the body.
!

Diagnostic Uses of
Radioactive Isotopes
Isotope
Use
11
6
24
11

circulatory
disorders
detection of eye
tumors

Fe

anemia

Ga

scan for lung


tumors

Na

32
15
59
26
67
31

PET brain scans

75
34

Se

Tc

imaging of the
brain, liver,
kidneys and
bone marrow.

Xe

lung imaging

99
43
133
54

pancreas scan

201
81Tl

d. Positron Emission Tomography


!
(PET) is a technique used to
heart disorders
study brain disorders. Glucose prepared with
!
carbon-11, a positron emitter is given to the
patient. The brain is then scanned for positrons
from the labeled glucose. This technique
determined that the brain of a schizophrenic
metabolizes only about 20% as much glucose as
that of most people.
thalium

2. Chemistry
a. Chemical analysis
i. Neutron activation analysis
1. Bombarding a sample with neutrons,
which create a radioactive element
that will emit gamma rays.
84
38

Sr + 01 n " 85
38 Sr

2. The magnitude of the energy change


and therefore the wavelength of the
gamma ray will vary from one
element to another, allowing for the
identification of the element
(Qualitative Analysis)
3. The intensity of the radiation depends
upon the amount of the element in the
sample, allowing for quantitative
analysis of samples as small as one
picogram (10-12 g).
4. Neutron activation analysis is used in
archeology.
Plants have a high strontium content,
so a high Sr content in bones would
suggest a vegetarian diet. Measuring
the amount of strontium in bones, it is
possible to determine the diet of
prehistoric humans.
7

3. Commercial Applications
a. Smoke detectors use small amounts of
radioactive elements (typically Americium
(Am-241)). The decay of Am-241 will ionize air
molecules within a small chamber. An electric
field (created by a battery) causing the ions
formed from the air to move across the
chamber, creating an electric current.
If smoke gets into the chamber, the electric
current is impeded, causing a circuit to detect
the voltage drop, and to sound the alarm. As a
fail-safe, the alarm will also go off if voltage
drops due to a dead battery.
b. Gamma rays are often used to sterilize food
products, since they are known to kill insects,
larvae, and parasites such as trichina that can
cause trichnosis in pork. Since chemical
preservatives in food can cause health issues,
the use of gamma irradiation to sterilize foods is
an attractive alternative.
Gamma-irradiation is also a means to sterilize
plastic surgical implements and IV bags, and
alternative to standard autoclaving procedures
for stainless steel instruments, which can stand
up to the temperatures (121 oC) and pressures
found in an autoclave. Although there are
autoclavable plastics available, gammairradiation as a method for sterilization is a
suitable alternative.
8

III. Rate of Radioactive Decay


a. Radioactive decay is a first-order process, therefore the
following equations apply
rate = kX
X
ln 0 = kt
X
ln 2 0.693
k=
=
t 12
t 12 !

Where
k
t 12

is the first order rate constant


is the half-life

is the present amount of the


radioactive species

X0

is the initial amount of the


radioactive species at time 0.

b. Because of the way in which rate of decay is measured, it is


often described bt the activity (A) of a sample, which expresses
the number of atoms decaying in unit time. A new equation can
be expressed as follows.
Where

A = kN

A
k
N

is the activity
is the first order rate constant
is the number of radioactive
nuclei present.

Activity can be expressed in terms of the number of atoms


decaying per second, or becquerels (Bq)

1 atom
second

Bq =

Alternatively, activity may be cited in disintergrations per


minute, or more commonly, in curies (Ci)

3.700 " 1010 atom


1 Ci =
second
9

c. Example:
The half-life of radium-226 is 1.60 x 103 y, or 5.05 x 1010 s.
Calculate k in s-1.

k =

0.693
#11
=
1.37
"10
/s
10
5.05 "10 s

What is the activity in curies of a 1.00 g sample of Ra-226?


1 mol Ra - 226 6.022 "1023 atoms 1 nucleus
N = 1.00g "
"
"
= 2.66 "1021 radioactive atomic nuclei
226g
1 mol
1 atom
# 1 Ci &
A = kN = (1.37 "10-11 /s)(2.66 "1021atoms)%
( = 0.985 Ci
atoms
3.700
"10
$
s'

! What is the mass in grams of a sample of Ra-226 that has an


activity of 1.00 x 109 atom/s?

A 1.00 "109 atomss


N= =
= 7.30 "1019 atoms
#11
k 1.37 "10 s
$
'$ 226 g '
1 mol
mass Ra - 226 = (7.30 "1019 atoms)&
)&
) = 0.0274 g
% 6.022 "1023 atoms (% 1 mol (
10

d. Age of Organic Material


i. Carbon-14 dating
1. Professor W.F. Libby in the 1950s is credited for
creating this method of determining the age of
organic (carbon containing) material.
2. Carbon-14 dating is based upon the known decay rate
of carbon-14.
3. Carbon-14 is produced in the atmosphere by the
interaction of neutrons from cosmic radiation with
ordinary nitrogen atoms.
14
7

N + 01n " 146 C + 11H

4. The carbon-14 formed by this nuclear reaction is


eventually incorporated into the carbon dioxide of
14
! air. A steady-state concentration of one 6 C
the
12
atoms for every 1012 6 C atoms, established in
atmospheric CO2.
14

5. The concentration of 6 C is such that a sample


containing!
one gram of carbon has an activity of 13.6
atoms/min.

! or a plant-eating human or animal is


6. A living plant
assumed to have this same activity. When a plant or
animal dies, the intake of radioactive carbon stops,
and the process of radioactive decay takes over.
14
6

C " 147 N + -10e


11

t 1 2 = 5730 years

7. The following equation can be used to determine the


age of an organic sample.

A
ln 0 = kt
A

Where
A0
is the original activity, assumed
to be 13.6 atoms/min
A
is the measured activity today
k
is the first order rate constant
t
is the age of the sample

8. Example: A tiny piece of paper taken from the dead


sea
! scrolls, believed to date back to the first century,
A.D., was found to have an activity per gram of
carbon of 10.8 atoms/min. Taking A0 to be 13.6
atoms/min, estimate the age of the scrolls.

k=

0.693
0.693
=
= 1.21"10#4 per year
t 12
5730 years

ln

A0
= kt
A

ln

13.6 atoms/min
= (1.21"10#4 /year ) t
10.8 atoms/min

t=

0.231
= 1.91"10 3 years
#4
1.21"10 /year

9.!Considerations. It is not easy to determine the


activities of atoms that decay at the rate of 10 atoms
per minute. Large samples must be used to increase
the counting rate. Background radiation must be
carefully excluded.

12

IV. Mass-Energy Relations


V. Nuclear Fission
VI. Nuclear Fusion

13

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