EST Presentation

It’s All Chemistry

Study of Chemistry
 Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of
matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions.

Definitions of Chemistry
 In retrospect, the definition of chemistry seems to invariably change per decade, as
new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. Shown below are
some of the standard definitions used by various noted chemists:
a) Alchemy (330) – the study of the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying,
disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies
(Zosimos).
b) Chymistry (1661) – the subject of the material principles of mixt bodies (Boyle).
c) Chymistry (1663) – a scientific art, by which one learns to dissolve bodies, and draw
from them the different substances on their composition, and how to unite them again,
and exalt them to an higher perfection (Glaser).
d) Chemistry (1730) – the art of resolving mixt, compound, or aggregate bodies into their
principles; and of composing such bodies from those principles (Stahl).
e) Chemistry (1837) – the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces
(Dumas).
f) Chemistry (1947) – the science of substances: their structure, their properties, and the
reactions that change them into other substances (Pauling).
g) Chemistry (1998) – the study of matter and the changes it undergoes (Chang).

History of Chemistry
 The word chemistry comes from the earlier study of alchemy, which is basically the quest
to make gold from earthen starting materials.As to the origin of the word "alchemy" the
question is a debatable one; it certainly can be traced back to the Greeks, and some,
following E. Wallis Budge, have also asserted Egyptian origins. Alchemy, generally,
derives from the old French alkemie from the Arabic al-kimia - "the art of
transformation". The Arabs borrowed the word "kimia" from the Greeks when they
conquered Alexandria in the year 642 AD. A tentative outline is as follows:
Contact Process
 The process can be divided into three stages:
 Preparation and purification of sulfur dioxide
 Catalytic oxidation (using vanadium oxide catalyst) of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide
 Conversion of sulfur trioxide to sulfuric acid
 Purification of air and SO2 is necessary to avoid catalyst poisoning (ie. removing catalytic
activities). The gas is then washed with water and dried by H2SO4.
 To conserve energy, the mixture is heated by exhaust gases from the catalytic converter
by heat exchangers.
 Sulfur dioxide and oxygen then react in the manner as follows:
 2 SO2(g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2 SO3(g) : ΔH = −197 kJ mol-¹
 To increase the reaction rate, high temperatures (450 °C), high pressures (10 atm), and
vanadium(V) oxide (V2O5) are used to ensure a 99.5% conversion. Platinum would be a
more suitable catalyst, but it is very costly and easily poisoned. The catalyst only serves
to increase the rate of reaction - it has no effect on how much SO3 is produced.
 Hot sulfur trioxide passes through the heat exchanger and is dissolved in concentrated
H2SO4 in the absorption tower to form oleum:
 H2SO4(l) + SO3 → H2S2O7(l)
 Note that directly dissolving SO3 in water is impractical due to the highly exothermic
nature of the reaction. Acidic vapour or mists are formed instead of a liquid.
 Oleum is reacted with water to form concentrated H2SO4.
 The average percentage yield of this reaction is around 30%.
 H2S2O7(l) + H2O(l) → 2 H2SO4(l)

Stage 1
Sulphur + Oxygen Sulphur Dioxide

Stage 2
Vanadium (V) Oxide(Catalyst)

Sulphur Dioxide + Oxygen Sulphur Trioxide

o
(450 C)

Stage 3
Sulphur Trioxide + Concentrated Sulphuric Acid Oleum

Stage 4
Oleum+Water Sulphuric acid
 Metal Non-metal

Examples Examples
Gold Nitrogen
Silver Similarities Carbon
Both are elements
Both are made of atoms

Differences

Malleable Not malleable

Ductile Brittle
High melting and boiling points Low melting and boiling point
Sonourus Not sonourus
Good conductor of heat & electricity Dull surface
Shiny surface Poor conductor of electricity and heat