Interchapter K

The Noble Gases

When an electric discharge is passed through a noble gas, light is emitted as electronically excited
noble-gas atoms decay to lower energy levels. The tubes contain helium, neon, argon, krypton, and
xenon.

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K. the noble gases K1

2 0

He Nitrogen and
Air P4 Mg(ClO4)2 NaOH
noble gases
4.002602
1s2
O2 removal H2O removal CO2 removal
10 0

Ne Figure K.1 A schematic illustration of the removal of O2(g), H2O(g), and CO2(g) from air. First
20.1797
the oxygen is removed by allowing the air to pass over phosphorus, P4(s) + 5 O2(g) → P4O10(s).
2s22p6 The residual air is passed through anhydrous magnesium perchlorate to remove the water vapor,
Mg(ClO4)2(s) + 6 H2O(g) → Mg(ClO4)2∙6 H2O(s), and then through sodium hydroxide to remove
18 0
the carbon dioxide, NaOH(s) + CO2(g) → NaHCO3(s). The gas that remains is primarily nitrogen
Ar with about 1% noble gases.
39.948
3s23p6
36 0
The Group 18 elements—helium, K-1. The Noble Gases Were
Kr neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and Not Discovered until 1893
83.798 radon—are called the noble gases
4s24p6 and are noteworthy for their rela- In 1893, the English physicist Lord Rayleigh noticed
54 0 tive lack of chemical reactivity. Only a small discrepancy between the density of nitrogen
Xe xenon and krypton are known to obtained by the removal of oxygen, water vapor, and
131.293 enter into chemical compounds, carbon dioxide from air and the density of nitrogen
5s25p6 and even then only with the two prepared by chemical reaction, such as the thermal
86 0 most electronegative compounds, decomposition of ammonium nitrite:
Rn fluorine and oxygen. The principal
(222) source of the noble gases, except for NH4NO2(s) → N2(g) + 2 H2O(l )
6s26p6 helium, is the atmosphere, where
they are thought to have arisen as One liter of nitrogen at 0°C and 1 atm obtained by
by-products of the decay of radioac- the removal of all the other known gases from air has
tive elements in the earth’s crust. Because of its low a mass of 1.2572 grams (Figure K.1), whereas one liter
mass, however, helium escapes from the earth’s atmo- of dry nitrogen obtained from ammonium nitrite has
sphere into outer space. Properties of the noble gases a mass of 1.2505 grams under the same conditions.
are given in Table K.1. The data in Table K.1 nicely This slight difference led Lord Rayleigh to suspect
illustrate trends in physical properties with increas- that some other gas was present in the sample of
ing atomic size. nitrogen from air.

Table K.1 Properties of the noble gases

Atomic Atomic Ionization Concentration Melting Boiling

Element Symbol
mass radius/pm energy/MJ·mol−1 in air/ppm point/°C point/°C

helium He 4.002602 32 2.3723 5.2 — −268.93

neon Ne 20.1797 69 2.0806 18.2 −248.609 −246.053

argon Ar 39.948 97 1.5205 9340 −189.36 −185.847

krypton Kr 83.798 110 1.3507 1.1 −157.38 −153.34

xenon Xe 131.293 130 1.1704 0.08 −111.745 −108.09

radon Rn (222) 145 1.0370 ~ 1 × 10−15 –71 –61.7

K2 GENER AL CHEMISTRY, FOURTH EDItION | McQuarrie, Rock, and Gallogly

The English chemist William Ramsay found that

if hot calcium metal is placed in a sample of nitrogen
obtained from air, about 1% of the gas fails to react.
Pure nitrogen should react completely. Because of
the inertness of the residual gas, Ramsay gave it the
name argon (Greek, idle). Ramsay then liquefied
the residual gas and, upon measuring its boiling
point, discovered that it consisted of five compo-
nents, each with its own characteristic boiling point
(Table K.1). The component present in the greatest
amount retained the name argon. The others were
named helium (sun), neon (new), krypton (hidden),
and xenon (stranger). Helium was named after the
Greek word for sun (helios) because its presence in Figure K.2 The two discoverers of the noble gases.
the sun had been determined earlier by spectro- (left) Sir William Ramsay was a professor of chemistry at the
scopic methods. All the noble gases are colorless, University College of London and (right) Lord Rayleigh,
born John William Strutt, was Cavendish Professor of
odorless, and relatively inert. For their work in discov-
Physics at Cambridge University.
ering and characterizing an entire new family of ele-
ments, Rayleigh received the 1904 Nobel Prize in
Physics and Ramsay received the 1904 Nobel Prize Chapter 2 that α-particles are energetic helium nuclei.
in Chemistry (Figure K.2). An estimated 3000 metric tons of helium are formed
each year in this way. Naturally occurring helium is
K-2. Helium Is the Second Most Abundant trapped in nonpermeable rock layers beneath the
Element in the Universe earth. Helium is obtained by separation from natural
gas (which is also trapped in such layers) using frac-
Helium is the second lightest element and the second
tional distillation. The largest producer of helium is
most abundant element in the universe, after hydro-
the United States, which has extensive quantities of
gen. Despite the fact that helium is denser and hence
helium in its natural gas deposits. Starting in 1925,
has less lifting power than hydrogen, it is used in
when the use of lighter-than-air aircraft yielded a mil-
lighter-than-air aircraft because it is nonflammable.
itary advantage, and continuing through the space
Helium is used in welding to provide an inert atmo-
race and the cold war, when helium was needed as
sphere around the welding flame and thus reduce
a coolant for military and space applications, the
corrosion of the heated metal. An inert helium envi-
United States government maintained a strategic
ronment is used for growing silicon and germanium
helium reserve. In 1996 the U.S. government began
crystals in the semiconductor industry. Helium is
phasing out this reserve.
used as an inert carrier gas in gas chromatography
The speed of sound in helium is nearly three
(an analytical method used to separate mixtures).
times that in air because of its low atomic mass (see
It is also used to replace nitrogen in deep-sea-diving
Chapter 13). For this reason, if helium is inhaled, say,
breathing mixtures to help reduce the formation of
from a small balloon, it can cause a temporary change
nitrogen bubbles in the blood, a condition known as
in the fundamental frequency of the vocal cavity,
the bends (see Section 16-7).
making the voice sound high-pitched. However, this
Because helium boils at 4.22 K, liquid helium is
must be done cautiously as helium is an asphyxiant
often used as a coolant for superconducting magnets
and inhaling too much helium and no oxygen can
such as those used in MRI (magnetic resonance imag-
cause respiratory distress or even death.
ing) and in other cryogenic applications. For exam-
ple, the recently constructed Large Hadron Collider
uses 96 metric tons of liquid helium for cooling.
On earth helium is produced from the radioac- Never inhale a gas directly from a high-pressure
tive decay of α-emitters (alpha-emitters) such as nat- tank, as lung damage can result.
urally occurring uranium and thorium. Recall from

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K. the noble gases K3

K-3. Excited Neon Gas Emits an Table K.2 Composition of the earth’s atmosphere
below 100 km
Orange-Yellow Glow
Neon is the fifth most abundant element in the uni- Major Content in fraction of total
verse, but is relatively rare on earth due to its low constituents molecules (and percent by mass)
mass, which means that, like helium, it also escapes nitrogen (N2) 0.7808 (75.51%)
from the upper atmosphere into space (although at
oxygen (O2) 0.2095 (23.14%)
a much slower rate than helium). When placed in
a discharge tube, neon emits an orange-yellow glow argon 0.0093 (1.28%)
that penetrates fog very well (Frontispiece). Neon is water vapor 0–0.04
used in neon signs, which are essentially discharge
Minor Content in parts
tubes filled with neon or a gas mixture containing
constituents per million (ppm)*
neon. In fact, because of its high cost, very few “neon”
signs actually contain pure neon and some contain carbon dioxide 385 ppm (2009 data)
no neon at all. Neon has traditionally been used in a neon 18 ppm
variety of electronics such as vacuum tubes and televi- helium 5 ppm
sion tubes and in some cryogenic applications. Neon
methane 2 ppm
is also used in helium-neon lasers, which operated as
bar-code scanners and optical disk readers before the krypton 1 ppm
development of less costly diode lasers. hydrogen (H2) 0.5 ppm
dinitrogen oxide 0.5 ppm
K-4. Argon Is the Third Most Abundant Gas xenon 0.1 ppm
in Our Atmosphere and Has a Wide Range *
The unit ppm denotes parts per million parts, for example,
of Industrial Uses 385 ppm of carbon dioxide means that 385 of each 1 million
molecules are CO2.
Argon is the most plentiful and least expensive
noble gas. Not considering water vapor, argon is the
third most abundant gas in the earth’s atmosphere
(Table K.2). Worldwide, about 700 000 metric tons
K-5. Krypton and Xenon Form a Small
of argon are isolated annually from air using frac- Number of Stable Compounds
tional distillation. Because it is relatively inexpensive Krypton and xenon are scarce and costly, which
compared to the other inert gases, argon has a wide limits their applications, although they are used in
variety of industrial uses. It is used in fluorescent and lasers, flashtubes for high-speed photography, and
incandescent lightbulbs because it does not react with automobile-engine timing lights (Figure K.3). Xenon
the discharge electrodes or the hot filament. Argon arc lamps produce an intense white light and are used
is used to provide an inert atmosphere in welding; in in applications such as IMAX projectors and high-
sealed museum cases to help preserve specimens that intensity headlights. Xenon is also used as a propel-
are subject to oxidation in air; in special fire extin- lant in ion thrusters on spacecraft. In the early 1940s
guishers; for growing silicon and germanium crystals; it was discovered that xenon gas could be used as a
and to fill the space above wines and pharmaceuticals general anesthetic, although its medical use has been
to prevent oxidation. The gas is also used in argon limited to date.
lasers, which are used predominantly in laser surgery. Prior to 1962 most chemists believed, and all
The most abundant isotope of argon is argon‑40, chemistry textbooks proclaimed, that the noble gases
which is produced by the radio decay of potassium‑40. did not form any chemical compounds. In fact, the
Because potassium-40 has a half-life of 1.248 × 109 gases helium through xenon were called the inert
years, the ratio of argon-40 to potassium-40 can be gases, indicating that they did not undergo any chem-
used to determine the age of rocks, a method called ical reactions.
potassium-argon dating (we discuss radiodating of In 1962, Neil Bartlett, then of the University of
materials in Chapter 17). The radio isotope argon-39 British Columbia, was working with the extremely
is also used in some radiodating applications. strong oxidizing agent platinum hexafluoride,
K4 GENER AL CHEMISTRY, FOURTH EDItION | McQuarrie, Rock, and Gallogly

As these three equations indicate, the reaction of

a mixture of xenon and fluorine yields a mixture
of XeF2(s), XeF4(s), and XeF6(s) (Figure K.4). The
chief difficulty is the separation of the products. A
favorable yield of XeF2(s) can be obtained by using a
large excess of xenon. Xenon difluoride forms large,
colorless crystals that melt at 129.03°C. It is a linear
molecule, as predicted by VSEPR theory (AX2E3).
Xenon difluoride is soluble in water and evidently
exists as XeF2 molecules in solution. Xenon tetrafluo-
ride can be obtained in quantitative yield by react-
ing a 1:5 mixture of Xe(g) and F2(g) at 400°C and 6
bar in a nickel vessel. Xenon tetrafluoride forms col-
orless crystals that melt at 117.10°C. The molecule is
square planar, as predicted by VSEPR theory (AX4E2).
Xenon hexafluoride forms colorless crystals that melt
at 49.48°C and has an octahedral structure, as pre-
dicted by VSEPR theory (AX6).
Xenon forms chemical bonds with the most elec-
tronegative elements, fluorine and oxygen, and exhib-
Figure K.3 Xenon flash lamps. its oxidation states (see Chapter 24) of +2, +4, +6, and
+8 (Table K.3). Xenon, having the greatest atomic
PtF6(s), which oxidizes O2(g) to produce the ionic size of any of the nonradioactive noble gases, has the
compound O2+PtF6−(s) according to smallest ionization energy. Hence, except for radon,
xenon is the most “reactive” noble gas, and we expect
O2(g) + PtF6(s) → O2+PtF6−(s) the reactivity of the noble gases to decrease from
xenon to helium. Only a few molecules containing
Bartlett realized that the ionization energy of O2(g)
(1164.6 kJ∙mol−1) is about the same as the ionization
energy of Xe(g) (1170.4 kJ∙mol−1), so he reasoned that
xenon might react with PtF6(s) in an analogous man-
ner. When he mixed xenon and PtF6(s) in a reaction
chamber, he obtained a definite chemical reaction
that at the time was thought to be the formation of
Xe +PtF−6(s). It has since been found that the product
of the reaction is more complex than Xe +PtF−6(s), but
nevertheless Bartlett showed that xenon will react
with a strong oxidizing agent under the right condi-
tions of temperature and pressure. Bartlett’s discov-
ery prompted other research groups to investigate
reactions of xenon, and within a year or so several
other compounds of xenon were synthesized.
Three xenon fluorides can be prepared by the
direct combination of xenon and fluorine in a nickel
vessel according to the equations

Xe(g) + F2(g) ⇌ XeF2(s)

Figure K.4 Xenon tetrafluoride crystals. Xenon
XeF2(s) + F2(g) ⇌ XeF4(s) tetrafluoride was first prepared in 1962 by the
direct combination of Xe(g) and F2(g) at 6 bar
XeF4(s) + F2(g) ⇌ XeF6(s) and 400°C.

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K. the noble gases K5

Table K.3 The principal compounds of xenon

Compound Oxidation state Physical state Molecular shape

XeF 2 +2 colorless crystals linear

XeF4 +4 colorless crystals square planar

XeOF4 +6 colorless liquid square pyramidal

XeO2F 2 +6 colorless crystals seesaw

XeO3 +6 colorless crystals trigonal pyramidal

XeO4 +8 colorless gas tetrahedral

krypton, such as KrF2(s), have been isolated, and the from radon decay. Indoor levels of radon are gener-
only argon compound synthesized to date is HArF(s), ally higher than outdoor levels, because radon enters
but this is only stable at temperatures below 40 K. a house through the ground and indoor airflow is
much more restricted than outdoor airflow. The exis-
tence of radioactive radon gas in the air in homes
K-6. Radon Is a Major Health Hazard in the United States was brought sharply into focus
Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas in 1984 when an engineer at the Limerock nuclear
formed in the radioactive decay of radium-226, which power plant in Pennsylvania repeatedly triggered
in turn arises from the radioactive decay of uranium the plant’s radioactivity detectors. The source of the
ores. Because it is radioactive and inert, radon sees radioactivity was found to be the engineer’s home,
few commercial or academic uses. However, it is a which registered a radioactivity level 675 times the
major health hazard. maximum level the Environmental Protection Agency
We are constantly being exposed to natural and recommends for indoor air. Figure K.5 is a map of the
man-made radiation, called background radiation. United States showing regions of the country where
About 55% of natural background radiation results radon gas is most prevalent in indoor air samples.

EPA Map of Radon Zones

LEGEND
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Figure K.5 A map of the
United States showing average
indoor radon gas levels by
region. Zone 1 represents
regions with the greatest
concentrations of radon gas
Guam and Zone 3 represents regions
Preliminary Zone designation
with the lowest concentrations.
K6 GENER AL CHEMISTRY, FOURTH EDItION | McQuarrie, Rock, and Gallogly

Three radon isotopes are produced in the decay of

uranium ores—radon-219, radon-220, and radon‑222.
The half-lives of radon-219 and radon-220 are on the
order of a few seconds; hence, these two radioiso-
topes decay before they can leave the ground. In con-
trast, radon‑222 has a half-life of 3.8 days and is an
α-emitter. The decay products of radon‑222 are called
radon daughters or progeny. Two of the radon‑222
progeny are polonium-218 and polonium‑214, which
are also α‑emitters with half-lives of 3.1 minutes and
2 × 10−4 seconds, respectively. Radon is a noble gas and
is thus chemically inert and diffuses out of the ground
in which it is formed. Similarly, inhaled radon is gen-
erally exhaled unless it decays to polonium-218 and Figure K.6 A home radon detector.
polonium‑214 while in the lungs. These polonium iso-
topes are fairly chemically reactive and bind to lung
tissue. They emit α-particles, which damage cells and Provided the structure itself is not built from
trigger the development of lung cancers. Although radioactive mine tailings or highly radioactive mate-
α-particles have a fairly short penetration range of rials such as uranium-rich granites, it is usually not
about 70 μm, this distance is roughly twice the thick- difficult to reduce radon levels within the structure.
ness of cell walls in the lungs. The U.S. Environmental The basic procedure is to seal off the points of entry
Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon causes of radon gas into the structure. Common avenues
5000 to 20 000 annual deaths from lung cancer in the of entry are cracks in the basement walls and floor,
United States. Because of this, radon is now recog- openings around pipes, and so forth. Good ventila-
nized as a major cause of lung cancers, comparable tion, particularly of basements, is also recommended.
in significance to smoking cigarettes, and especially It is advisable to avoid a tightly sealed structure that
deadly in combination. The presence of radon can has a low level of outside airflow into the structure.
be detected using commercially available test kits The sources and principal commercial uses of the
(Figure K.6). noble gases are given in Table K.4.

Table K.4 Sources and uses of the noble gases

Element Principal Source Uses

helium natural gas wells provide an inert atmosphere for welding, inflation of
meteorological balloons and blimps, carrier gas for
chromatography, high vacuum leak detection, cryogenics, coolant
for superconducting magnets, nitrogen substitute for deep-sea
diving, pressurize liquid rocket fuels, helium dating of rocks

neon fractional distillation fluorescent tubes, lasers, vacuum tubes, high-voltage indicators,
of liquid air cryogenics

argon fractional distillation provide an inert atmosphere for welding, fluorescent tubes,
of liquid air blanketing material for the production of titanium and other
metals, lasers, deaeration of solutions

krypton fractional distillation fluorescent tubes, high-speed photographic lamps, lasers

of liquid air

xenon fractional distillation fluorescent tubes, lasers, stroboscopic lamps, high intensity
of liquid air headlights

radon uranium ores rarely used commercially

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K. the noble gases K7

TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW K-6. Sketch an experimental setup for removing
O2(g), H2O(l ), and CO2(g) from air.
noble gas K1
α-emitters (alpha-emitters) K2 K-7. Describe the important role that the noble gases
background radiation K5 played in the theories of chemical bonding and elec-
tronic structure of atoms.
K-8. Nitrogen is also a relatively inert gas. Suggest an
QUESTIONS
experiment to demonstrate the difference between
nitrogen and argon.
K-1. What is the principal chemical property of the
noble gases? K-9. When Bartlett prepared O2+PtF –6 in 1962, what rea-
soning did he use to conjecture that it might be pos-
K-2. Discuss how the noble gases were discovered by
sible to prepare Xe +PtF –6 ?
Lord Rayleigh.
K-10. Use VSEPR theory to predict the structures of
K-3. What is the principal source of helium?
the following compounds:
K-4. Why did Rayleigh and Ramsey place the newly (a) RnF2 (b) RnF4
discovered noble gases in a new group in the periodic
(c) RnO3 (d) RnO4
table?
K-5. What is the source of He(g) in natural gas
deposits?