Chemical Properties of Material

Chemical and physical properties are often tabulated together in most handbooks. In general, the
data associated with a compound contain name, empirical and structural formula, molecular
weight, Chemical Abstract (CA) registry number, melting point, boiling point, density, color,
solubility, oxidation or reduction potential, and various spectroscopic peaks. However, other
literature must be consulted on chemical reactivity.

Chemical reactions usually involve the breakage and formation of some chemical bonds. All
chemical reactions involve the redistribution of electrons among species involved. Chemical
properties show the nature of its reactivity, the type of compounds and the category of reactions.
Think of a compound, and classify it according to the following criteria.

Acids and bases

Chemicals can be classified according to their Definitions of acids and bases

acidity or basicity. A base and an acid readily Substance produce Substance produce
react. There are three definitions of acid and Arrhenius H+ in solution OH- in solution
base first defined by Arrhenius, Bronsted, and
Bronsted Proton donor proton acceptor
Lewis. G.N. Lewis, wanted to consider all
chemical reactions as acid-base reactions, and Lewis Electrophile Nucleophile
he redefined acidity and basicity as electrophile (electron loving sites) and nucleophile (positive
or nuclei loving sites) in order to cover most reactions. Thus, chemicals can be classified as acids
and bases according to their reactivity. However, such classification works best for only some
compounds. The concept works well for chemists, because they use an acid to react with a base.
For example, water deposit (usually CaCO3) is slightly basic, and it can be dissolved in an acid
such as vinegar. The design of household cleaning agents often makes use of the acid and base
properties.

Oxidants and reductants

Many reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one species to another. Substances such as
sodium, zinc, and oxalic acid that give up electrons are reducing agents, or reductants. They are
oxidized in reactions. Electron-accepting compounds such as ferric ion (Fe3+), permanganate
(MnO4-), oxygen, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are oxidants, they don't always contain oxygen.
Oxidation and reduction happen together, and they are referred to as redox reactions. The
strength of a compound to accept one or more electrons is indicated by its electromotive force
(emf) or reduction potential. Values of emf at standard conditions for common compounds or
ions are listed in handbooks. The list indicates the relative redox strength of substances, but their
strengths vary with conditions such as concentration, acidity, and temperature.

Redox reactions occur in corrosion and combustion. For example, oxidation of iron in wet
condition produces loose rust in the reaction,

4Fe + 3O2 + 2H2O  2Fe2O3.H2O.

Exchange reactions

In exchange reactions, two compounds exchange ions or group of atoms. Usually, these reactions
involve more than one phase and they are called heterogeneous reactions. These reactions stop
only when one of the reactants is exhausted, and they are ideal for manufacturing process. A
solid or precipitate is formed when two ions having great affinity for each other are poured
together from their solutions. For example, Ca2+ ions form a solid CaCO3 when they meet the
carbonate ions, CO32-,
Ca2+ + CO32-  CaCO3 (solid).
Due to limited solubility, a solid precipitated out. Similarly, gas-generating reactions from none-
gas reactants tend to exhaust one of the reactants.

Decomposition reactions

Substances synthesized at stringent conditions such as low temperature and high pressure may be
unstable and undergo reactions by themselves to become another one or more substances, at
ordinary condition. However, there are two factors governing the stability of a substance:
kinetics and thermodynamics. The former refers to the speed of reaction whereas the latter the
energy content of the system. If the speed is slow, the compounds may stay unchanged for an
indefinite period.

Composition

The presence of various elemental and chemical components in a mixture is called composition.
For a pure compound, composition means percentages of elements present. Thus, the term
composition must be used with specification. Physical and chemical properties of mixtures
depend on the composition. For example, water and dibutylamine boil at 373 and 433 K
respectively, but a 50 - 50 % mixture boils at 370 K, lower than either one. Properties of metallic
solid solutions (alloys) are drastically different from those of their components. Often, the
composition is expressed in units of concentrations: percentage (by weight or by mole), molarity,
etc.

Molecular structure

As a discipline, chemistry studies molecules, correlating properties to their structures, and their
changes. In the study of molecular structure, the ultimate goal is to learn their 3-dimensional
atomic bonding and arrangements, from which the bond distances and bond angles are
calculated. In cases three-dimensional information are not possible, the interconnectiivity and
type of bonding between atoms are sought. Often structural formulas representing the bonding
are given to reflect molecular structures. For example, SO42- indicates that the sulfate ion has
four equivalent oxygen atoms bonded the central sulfur. Thus, a familiarity with structural
notations is important.

Crystal structure
Crystals of most organic compounds were studied in order to determine their molecular
structures. Often the arrangement of molecules in the solid state is interesting. One such structure
is shown here. Molecules of cyanoacetamide NCCH2C(=O)NH2 are planar, and a network of
hydrogen bonds hold the molecules together forming layers. The negative site NC acts as an
acceptor in the hydrogen bonding.

Properties of the crystals are overshadowed by their chemical properties. For inorganic
compounds and minerals, their properties as crystals are often used in their applications. Thus,
crystal structural information is particularly valuable. However, we should realize that most bulk
materials are composed of many crystals, some large and some very small. A chunk of metal
may be an aggregate of millions of crystals called a grain. The range of grain size, the average
grain size, and their orientations plus the shape of the grain boundaries play important roles in
determining the properties of the bulk material. Sizes, arrangements and orientations of grains in
the bulk material is often called texture structure, and the texture structures of metals and
polymers are particularly important in their mechanical, appearance, and dimensional properties.
Surface treatments such as heat quenching alter their property.

Secondary and tertiary structures

When it comes to biological materials such as proteins and enzymes, the nature of folding and
spiral of the chains are considered as secondary structure. The spatial relationship of various
segments due to secondary structures is called tertiary structure. The secondary and tertiary
structures provide cavities suitable for promoting certain chemical reactions, which are the
biological in nature.

Thermodynamic properties

Energy drives all physical and chemical changes. The study Heats of Combustion /kcal mole-1
of these phenomena is called thermodynamics. Thus, many methane, CH4 212.8
types of data are associated with materials. They range from
ethane, C 2 H6 372.8
heat of fusion (the energy required to melt a mole of solid),
energy of formation (energy released when a substance is propane, C 3 H8 530.6
formed from the respective elements), energy of solution maltose, C12H22O11 1349.3
(energy released when one mole of the substance dissolve in lactose, C12H22O22 1350.0
water), to heat of combustion (energy released when one sucrose, C12H22O22 1350.0
mole substance is burned).
glucose, C6H12O6 669.9
Heats of combustion for some substances are given in a fructose, C6H12O6 672.0
separate box. Thermodynamics is a very broad field taught methanol, CH3OH 173.6
in chemistry, physics, engineering, and biological sciences. ethanol, C2H5OH 326.7
We are only able to mention some properties here. Internal
energy, free energy, enthalpy, and entropy are concepts of thermodynamics, and they are given
in most year-one chemistry texts., although not in details due to time constrain. An interested
reader may pursue further study in thermodynamics by reading.

Chemical bond properties

Not only the shape and bonding in a molecule are important, quantitative information such as
bondlength, bond angle, bond energy, and intermolecular distances are chemical bond
properties. We shall discuss these in later chapters.

Spectroscopic data

When a beam of light passes a medium, photons with appropriate wavelengths are absorbed.
Plots of the transmitted intensity against frequency are called spectra. Depending on the region
of the electromagnetic radiation used, these are called infrared (IR), visible, or ultraviolet (UV)
spectra. Excited atoms or ions in the plasma also emit radiation, and plots of intensity against
frequency are called emission spectra. If the wavelengths are in the order of �, the patterns are
called X-ray spectra. Some molecules contain nuclei that are magnetically active, their
absorption of radiation is affected by the strength of the magnetic field, in which they are placed.
The technique is called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Using laser as light
sources and analyzing scattered light pattern are techniques used in Raman spectroscopy. The
technique based on the weight and charge of a particle is call mass spectroscopy. Spectroscopic
techniques are useful for compound identification and chemical analysis.