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Nuclear Chemistry

Nuclear Chemistry . The study of nuclear reactions and their use in chemistry. Basic Definitions. Nucleons - particles that reside in the nucleus – protons and neutrons Isotopes – atoms of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons

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Nuclear Chemistry

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  1. Nuclear Chemistry The study of nuclear reactions and their use in chemistry

  2. Basic Definitions • Nucleons - particles that reside in the nucleus – protons and neutrons • Isotopes – atoms of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons • Mass Number – sum of p+ and n0. • Atomic Number – number of p+ and e- in a neutral atom

  3. A Brief History • In 1896, Henri Becquerel expanded the field of chemistry to include nuclear changes when he discovered that uranium emitted radiation.  Soon after Becquerel's discovery, Marie Sklodowska Curie began studying radioactivity and completed much of the pioneering work on nuclear changes.  Curie found that radiation was proportional to the amount of radioactive element present, and she proposed that radiation was a property of atoms (as opposed to a chemical property of a compound).  Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel prize and the first person to win two (the first, shared with her husband Pierre and Becquerel for discovering radioactivity; the second for discovering the radioactive elements radium and polonium).

  4. Marie Curie • Radiation – wave energy from any power source • Radioactivity – energy emitted from decaying atoms

  5. Stability of Atoms • Most atoms are stable • Certain nuclides are unstable because of the size of the atom or the ratio of protons and neutrons in the nuclei • Radioisotopes – are atoms of an element that produce nuclear radiation ( they are radioactive ).

  6. Types of Nuclear Radiation • Alpha Radiation (a) • An a particle contains 2 protons and 2 neutrons (and is similar to a He nucleus: ). • When an atom emits an a particle, the atom's atomic mass will decrease by 4 units (because 2 protons and 2 neutrons are lost) and the atomic number (z) will decrease by 2 units. 

  7. The element is said to 'transmute' into another element that is 2 z units smaller.  • An example of an a transmutation takes place when uranium decays into the element thorium (Th) by emitting an alpha particle as depicted in the following equation: 238 234 4 U ----> Th + He 92 90 2

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