Undergraduate
  1. General chemistry  1.1. Introduction to Chemistry  1.2. Atomic Structure  1.2.1. Subatomic particles  1.2.2. Atomic Model  1.2.3. Quantum numbers  1.2.4. Electron Configuration  1.2.5. Periodic trends  1.2.6. Isotopes and their applications  1.3. Chemical bond  1.3.1. Ionic bond  1.3.2. Covalent bonds  1.3.3. Metal Bond  1.3.4. Hybridization  1.3.5. Molecular geometry and VSEPR theory  1.3.6. Bond polarity and dipole moment  1.4. Stoichiometry  1.4.1. Mole concept  1.4.2. Empirical and molecular formula  1.4.3. Limiting reactant and excess reactant  1.4.4. Percent Yield and Purity  1.4.5. Dilution calculation  1.5. States of matter  1.5.1. Gas Laws  1.5.2. Matter and Intermolecular Forces  1.5.3. Solid and Crystal Structures  1.5.4. Phase diagram  1.5.5. Plasma and supercritical fluid  1.6. Chemical reactions  1.6.1. Types of Chemical Reactions  1.6.2. Balancing Chemical Equations  1.6.3. Thermochemical reactions  1.6.4. Reaction energy profiles  1.7. Solutions and Mixtures  1.7.1. Concentration units  1.7.2. Syndrome properties  1.7.3. Solubility and Solubility Rules  1.7.4. Henry's Law and Raoult's Law  1.7.5. Partition coefficient  1.8. Chemical equilibrium  1.8.1. Law of mass action  1.8.2. Le Chatelier's principle  1.8.3. Reaction quotient  1.8.4. To use this online calculator for Equilibrium Constant, enter Equilibrium Constant (Eq.) and hit the calculate button. Here is how the Equilibrium Constant calculation can be explained with given input values -> 0.05 = 0.05/0.  1.8.5. Acid-base balance  1.9. Acids and bases  1.9.1. Arrhenius, Brønsted–Lowry, and Lewis definitions  1.9.2. pH and pOH  1.9.3. Acid-base titration  1.9.4. Buffer Solution  1.9.5. Acid-base indicator  1.9.6. Polyprotic Acids and Bases  1.10. Electrochemistry  1.10.1. redox reactions  1.10.2. Galvanic and Electrolytic Cells  1.10.3. Nernst equation  1.10.4. Electrolysis  1.10.5. Faraday's laws of electrolysis  1.11. Thermodynamics  1.11.1. Laws of Thermodynamics  1.11.2. Enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy  1.11.3. Spontaneity of reactions  1.11.4. Thermodynamic cycles (Hess's law, Carnot cycle)  1.12. Kinetics  1.12.1. Rate law and reaction order  1.12.2. Activation Energy and Catalyst  1.12.3. Collision theory  1.12.4. Reaction mechanism  1.12.5. Transition state theory
  2. Organic chemistry  2.1. Structure and relationships  2.1.1. Hybridisation in Carbon Compounds  2.1.2. Resonance and aromatization  2.1.3. Molecular orbitals  2.1.4. Inductive and mesomeric effects  2.2. Hydrocarbons  2.2.1. Hydrocarbons  2.2.2. Alkene  2.2.3. Alkynes  2.2.4. Aromatic compounds  2.2.5. Cycloalkanes and Conformation  2.3. Functional Group  2.3.1. Alcohols and phenols  2.3.2. Ethers and epoxides  2.3.3. Aldehyde and ketone  2.3.4. Carboxylic acids and derivatives  2.3.5. Amin  2.3.6. Esters and amides  2.3.7. Thiols and sulfides  2.4. Stereoscopic  2.4.1. Isomerism in Stereochemistry  2.4.2. Chirality and optical activity  2.4.3. Structural analysis  2.4.4. Diastereomers and Enantiomers  2.5.1. Substitution reactions  2.5.2. Elimination reactions  2.5.3. Addition reactions  2.5.4. Radical reactions  2.5.5. Rearrangement reactions  2.5.6. Pericyclic Reactions  2.6. Spectroscopy and structural analysis  2.6.1. Infrared Spectroscopy  2.6.2. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy  2.6.3. Mass Spectrometry  2.6.4. UV-visible spectroscopy  2.6.5. X-ray crystallography  2.7. Polymer chemistry  2.7.1. Addition and Condensation Polymers  2.7.2. Polymerization mechanism  2.7.3. Biodegradable Polymer  2.7.4. Conducting and smart polymers
  3. Inorganic chemistry  3.1. Coordination chemistry  3.1.1. Ligands and coordination compounds  3.1.2. Crystal field theory  3.1.3. Molecular Orbital Theory in Coordination Compounds  3.1.4. Jahn–Taylor distortion  3.2. Main Group Chemistry  3.2.1. Alkali and alkaline earth metals  3.2.2. Halogens and Noble Gases  3.2.3. Transition metals and their complexes  3.2.4. Lanthanides and Actinides  3.3. Solid state chemistry  3.3.1. Crystal lattices and unit cells  3.3.2. Defects in solids  3.3.3. Electrical and magnetic properties  3.3.4. Superconductivity  3.4. Bio-inorganic chemistry  3.4.1. Metal ions in biology  3.4.2. Enzymatic reactions with metals  3.4.3. Metal poisoning and detoxification  3.4.4. Metalloproteins and Metalloenzymes
  4. Physical chemistry  4.1. Quantum Chemistry  4.1.1. Wave–particle duality  4.1.2. Schrödinger Equation  4.1.3. Quantum Numbers and Orbitals  4.1.4. Atomic and molecular spectroscopy  4.2. Statistical mechanics  4.2.1. Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution  4.2.2. Partitioning functions  4.2.3. Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac statistics  4.3. Chemical thermodynamics  4.3.1. Gibbs Free Energy  4.3.2. Phase transition  4.3.3. Thermodynamic efficiency  4.4. Surface chemistry  4.4.1. Absorption and Catalysis  4.4.2. Colloids and Emulsions
  5. Analytical Chemistry  5.1. Classical methods  5.1.1. Gravimetric Analysis  5.1.2. titrimeter  5.2. Instrumental methods  5.2.1. Chromatography  5.2.2. Spectroscopy  5.2.3. Electroanalytical methods  5.2.4. X-ray diffraction
  6. Industrial Chemistry  6.1. Petrochemistry  6.2. Chemical engineering principles  6.3. Green Chemistry  6.4. Pharmaceuticals and Drug Synthesis
  7. Biochemistry  7.1. Carbohydrates  7.2. Proteins and enzymes  7.3. Lipids and membranes  7.4. Nucleic acids  7.5. Metabolism and Bioenergetics  7.6. Enzyme kinetics and mechanism

Undergraduate → Inorganic chemistry ↓


Main Group Chemistry


Main group chemistry is a fundamental field within inorganic chemistry that deals with the elements found in groups 1, 2 and 13-18 of the periodic table. These elements include the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals and p-block elements. Understanding these elements is important because they cover some of the most abundant and industrially relevant chemicals such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine and many others.

Main groups in the periodic table

The periodic table is divided into different categories, and the main group elements are part of these categories. Let's look at these groups in more detail:

Group 1: Alkali metals

The alkali metals include lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs) and francium (Fr). These metals are known for their high reactivity and are usually found in nature as compounds rather than in pure elemental states.

        Reaction Example: 2 Na + 2 H2O → 2 NaOH + H2 ↑

The above reaction describes sodium reacting with water to form sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Alkali metals lose one electron, forming cations with a +1 charge.

Group 2: Alkaline earth metals

The alkaline earth metals include beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba) and radium (Ra). These elements are slightly less reactive than the alkali metals.

        Reaction Example: Ca + 2 H2O → Ca(OH)2 + H2 ↑

Here, calcium reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Alkaline earth metals usually lose two electrons, forming cations with a +2 charge.

Group 13: Boron group

The boron group includes boron (B), aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), indium (In) and thallium (Tl). These elements show an interesting mix of properties as they include a metalloid (boron) and metals.

        Chemical Property Example: Boron forms covalent networks, while aluminum forms metallic bonds.

Group 14: The carbon group

This group is uniquely diverse, with carbon (C), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn) and lead (Pb). Carbon, in particular, is important to organic chemistry and life on Earth.

        Common Allotropy: Carbon exists as diamond and graphite, with varying hardness and electrical properties.

Group 15: Nitrogen group

Consisting of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and bismuth (Bi), the elements in this group range from nonmetals to metalloids and metalloids.

        Nitrogen Cycle: N2 + 8H+ + 8e- → 2NH3 + H2 ↑

Nitrogen is vital for life and is a major component of proteins and DNA.

Group 16: Oxygen group

Also known as the chalcogens, this group includes oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te) and polonium (Po). Oxygen is necessary for respiration.

        Combustion Reaction: C + O2 → CO2

Oxygen helps in combustion and is involved in many oxidation-reduction reactions.

Group 17: The halogens

The halogens include fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I) and astatine (At). These elements are highly reactive, especially with the alkali and alkaline earth metals.

        Halide Formation: 2 Na + Cl2 → 2 NaCl

Halogens usually gain one electron, and form anions with -1 charge.

Group 18: Noble gases

The noble gases include helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe) and radon (Rn). Because of their low reactivity, these gases are often used in lighting and welding.

        Inert Nature: He, Ne, and Ar are often used in gas-discharge lamps because of their non-reactive nature.

Electron configuration

The electron configuration of main group elements determines their chemical reactivity and place in the periodic table:

        Example: Lithium has an electron configuration of 1s2 2s1, where the valence shell is 2s1.

Valence electrons play an important role in chemical bonding and reactions.

Reactivity trends

The reactivity of main group elements varies across the periodic table. For example, alkali metals are more reactive than alkaline earth metals. Also, reactivity increases going down the group due to increasing atomic size.

Group reactivity with water

Alkali metals react vigorously with water:

Alkali metal + Water → Hydroxide + Hydrogen gas

In general, reactivity increases as you move from lithium to francium. This trend is due to lower ionization energies with increasing atomic number.

The halogens also have interesting reactivity, especially with metals to form halide salts:

2 Na + Cl2 → 2 NaCl

Applications of main group elements

Main group elements find applications in various fields due to their diverse properties:

Industry

Aluminum is used in construction and packaging because of its light weight and strength. Silicon is used in semiconductor devices.

Biological significance

Elements such as oxygen and nitrogen are essential for life, and help in processes such as respiration and amino acid formation.

Environmental impact

Main group elements such as sulfur and nitrogen contribute to environmental phenomena such as acid rain.

Conclusion

Main group chemistry forms the backbone of many chemical processes and applications. From essential roles in biological systems to important industrial uses, understanding the chemistry of these elements is vital. Continued research and discovery in this field are vital to advancing academic and industry-based chemistry applications.


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Main Group Chemistry

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