A gas such as ozone has extremely valuable properties for all mankind. The chemical element with which it is formed is oxygen O. In fact, ozone O 3 is one of the allotropic modifications of oxygen, consisting of three formula units (O ÷ O ÷ O). The first and more well-known compound is oxygen itself, or rather the gas, which is formed by its two atoms (O = O) - O 2 .
Allotropy is the ability of one chemical element to form a number of simple compounds with different properties. Thanks to it, mankind has studied and uses such substances as diamond and graphite, monoclinic and rhombic sulfur, oxygen and ozone. A chemical element with this ability is not necessarily limited to only two modifications, some have more.
Connection Discovery History
The constituent unit of many organic and mineral substances, including such as ozone, is a chemical element, the designation of which is O - oxygen, translated from the Greek “oxys” - sour, and “gignomai” - to give birth.
The first allotropic modification of oxygen during experiments with electric discharges was discovered in 1785 by the Dutchman Martin van Marun, a specific smell attracted his attention. A century later, the Frenchman Schonbein noted the presence of the same after a thunderstorm, as a result of which the gas was called "smelling." But scientists were somewhat deceived, believing that their sense of smell was sensed by ozone itself. The smell that they felt belonged to organic compounds, oxidized by interaction with O 3 , since the gas is very reactive.
Electronic building
O2 and O3, a chemical element, have the same structural fragment. Ozone has a more complex structure. In oxygen, everything is simple - two oxygen atoms are connected by a double bond, consisting of the ϭ- and π-component, according to the valency of the element. O 3 has several resonant structures.
A multiple bond connects two oxygen, and the third has a single. Thus, due to the migration of the π component, in the overall picture, three atoms have one and a half compounds. This bond is shorter than a single, but longer than a double. The likelihood of a molecule being cycled by experiments is ruled out by scientists.
Synthesis methods
For the formation of a gas such as ozone, the chemical element oxygen must be in a gaseous environment in the form of separate atoms. Such conditions are created by the collision of oxygen molecules O 2 with electrons during electric discharges or other particles with high energy, as well as when it is irradiated with ultraviolet light.
The lion's share of the total amount of ozone in the natural atmosphere is formed by the photochemical method. A person prefers to use other methods in chemical activity, such as, for example, electrolytic synthesis. It lies in the fact that platinum electrodes are placed in the aqueous medium of the electrolyte and a current is applied. Reaction Scheme:
2 + 2 → 3 + 2 + -
Physical properties
Oxygen (O) is a composite unit of a substance such as ozone - a chemical element, the formula of which, as well as the relative molar mass are indicated in the periodic table. Forming O 3 , oxygen acquires properties that are fundamentally different from the properties of O 2 .
Blue gas is a common condition in a compound such as ozone. The chemical element, formula, quantitative characteristics - all this was determined during the identification and study of this substance. The boiling point for it is -111.9 ° C, the liquefied state has a dark purple color, with a further decrease in the degree to -197.2 ° C, melting begins. In the solid state of aggregation, ozone acquires a black color with a violet tint. Its solubility is ten times higher than this property of oxygen O 2 . At the smallest concentrations in the air, the smell of ozone is felt, it is sharp, specific and resembles the smell of metal.
Chemical properties
Very active, from a reactionary point of view, is ozone gas. The chemical element that forms it is oxygen. The characteristics that determine the behavior of ozone in interaction with other substances are the high oxidizing ability and instability of the gas itself. At elevated temperatures, it decomposes at an unprecedented rate; catalysts such as metal oxides, chlorine, nitrogen dioxide and others accelerate the process. The properties of the oxidizing agent are inherent in ozone due to the structural features of the molecule and the mobility of one of the oxygen atoms, which, when split off, turns the gas into oxygen: O 3 → O 2 + O ·
Oxygen (the brick from which molecules of substances such as oxygen and ozone are built) is a chemical element. As written in the reaction equations - O ·. Ozone oxidizes all metals, with the exception of gold, platinum and its subgroup. It reacts with gases in the atmosphere - oxides of sulfur, nitrogen and others. Organic substances do not remain inert, too, processes of breaking multiple bonds through the formation of intermediate compounds are especially fast. It is imperative that reaction products are harmless to the environment and humans. These are water, oxygen, higher oxides of various elements, carbon oxides. Binary compounds of calcium, titanium and silicon with oxygen do not enter into interaction with ozone.
Application
The main area where “smelling” gas is used is ozonation. Such a sterilization method is much more effective and safer for living organisms than chlorine disinfection. When water is purified by ozone , the formation of toxic methane derivatives substituted with hazardous halogen does not occur.
Increasingly, such an environmental sterilization method finds application in the food industry. Ozone is used to process refrigeration equipment, warehouses for products, and odors are eliminated with it.
For medicine, the disinfecting properties of ozone are also indispensable. They disinfect wounds, physiological solutions. Venous blood is ozonized, and a number of chronic diseases are treated with a “smelling” gas.
Being in nature and meaning
The simple substance ozone is an element of the gas composition of the stratosphere, an area of near-Earth space located at a distance of about 20-30 km from the surface of the planet. Isolation of this compound occurs during processes associated with electrical discharges, during welding, the operation of Xerox devices. But it is in the stratosphere that it is formed and contains 99% of the total amount of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The presence of gas in near-Earth space turned out to be vitally important. It forms the so-called ozone layer in it, which protects everything living from the deadly ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Oddly enough, but along with great benefits, the gas itself is dangerous to people. An increase in the concentration of ozone in the air that a person breathes is harmful to the body due to its extreme chemical activity.