CHAPTER SEVEN

NUCLEAR
CHEMISTRY

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 7.1. Radioactivity or radioactive decay:
 It is the spontaneous change of the nuclei of
some atoms, accompanied by the emission of:
(a) Subatomic particles and/or
(b) High frequency electromagnetic radiation.
Nuclear equations:
In a nuclear equation:
 Nuclides and emitted particles are represented in
the form AEZ,
 E is the chemical symbol for the element.
 Z is the atomic number of the element [number of
protons = No of positive charges], is responsible to
determine element type
 A is the mass number of the isotope [A = number of
protons + number of neutrons].

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  Note that:

 Neutron[1N0]= Proton[1p1] + Electron [0e-1]

 Proton[1p1] = Neutron [1N0]+ Positron [0e1]
 There are five principle types of radioactive decay.
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1- Alpha particles emission He2
0
2- Beta Particles emission e-1
3- Gamma electromagnetic radiation emission γ
0
4- Positron Particles emission e1
0
5- Electron capture [Left hand side of equation] e-1
Alpha Particle Emission:
 An (α) alpha particle has the
same composition as a helium
nucleus.

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  It has two protons and two
neutrons.
 The symbol for α particle is
4
He2.
 Thus an α particle has a mass of
4 and a charge of +2.
 Because they carry a positive
charge, α particles are deflected in
electric and magnetic fields.
 The penetrating power of
particle through matter is so weak
that α particles can generally be
stopped by a sheet of paper.
Example:

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 radioactive decay of uranium 238 to
thorium 234:

238 234 4
U92 Th90 + He2
Mass numbers: 238 = 234 + 4
Atomic numbers: 92 = 90 + 2

2. Beta Particle Emission:

i.e., one neutron decomposes to a proton
and an electron.
 Beta (β-) particles are electrons.
 The symbol for a β particle is 0e-1
 Beta (β-) particles have very little
mass and carry a charge of 1.

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  They are deflected in electric and
magnetic fields, but in the direction
opposite to the direction of α particle
deflection.
 Beta particles have more
penetration power than α particles
and can pass through an aluminum
sheet 2-3 mm thick.

Example:
The decay of thorium 234 to
protactinium 234:

234 234 0
Th90 Pa91 + e-1
Atomic numbers: 90 = 91 + (-1)

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Mass numbers: 234 = 234 + 0
3. Gamma Ray Emission:
o Gamma (γ) rays are highly
penetrating form of electromagnetic
radiation.
o They consist of photons,
o They are not particles.
o They are emitted by energetic nuclei
to reach a lower energy state.
o In a nuclear equation for γ ray
emission, we represent the energetic
nucleus by affixing a symbol such as *
to its chemical symbol.

Example:

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 230 230
Th*90 Th90 + γ

Mass numbers: 230 = 230 + 0

Atomic numbers: 90 = 90 + 0

4. Positrons Emission:
o Positrons are formed in the nucleus
through the conversion of a proton to
a neutron and a positron:
o Positrons are particles having the
same mass as electrons but carrying a
charge of +1.
o They are sometimes called positive
electrons.
o referred to as β+ particles.

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 o Their penetrating power through
matter is very limited.
o Positrons are formed in the nucleus
through the conversion of a proton to
a neutron and a positron:

1
P1  1
n0 + 0
e1
Example:
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Al13  26
Mg12 + 0
e1

Mass numbers: 26 = 26 + 0
Atomic numbers: 13 = 12 + 1
5. Electron Capture (EC):
 Is a process in which the nucleus
absorbs an electron from an inner

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 electron shell, usually the first or
second.
 It is written in LHS of Equation
 Once inside the nucleus, the
captured electron combines with a
proton to form a neutron.

0
e-1 + 1
P1  1
n0

EXAMPLE:
125 0 125
I53 + e-1 Te52
Mass numbers: 125 + 0 = 125
Atomic numbers: 53 + (-1) = 52
EXAMPLES

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 Write a nuclear equation for:
(a) α particle emission by radon 222,
(b) β- decay of phosphorous 32,
(c) γ decay of aluminum 28.

SOLUTION:
(a) We identify two of the species from
the information given.

222 4
Rn86 ? + He2

The missing nuclide must have:

atomic number Z = 86 – 2 = 84
and mass number A = 222 – 4 = 218.

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The element with Z = 84 is polonium:

222 218 4
Rn86 Po84 + He2

(b) The same way. The two species

described in the statement are
phosphorous 32 and 0e-1 .

32 0
P15 ? + e-1
The missing nuclide must have:
Z = 15 + 1 = 16 and
A = 32.
The element with Z = 16 is sulfur.
32 32 0
P15 S16 + e-1

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(c) Both the atomic number and the
mass number remain constant in γ decay.
On the right side of the equation, we
simply remove the symbol * from Al and
add a γ ray:

*
28
Al13  28
Al13 + γ

7.3. Naturally Occurring Radioactivity:

 They are found in trace amounts in
our planet and in compounds that
incorporate H and C atoms.
 Both hydrogen 3 and carbon 14 are
β- emitters:
3 3 0
H1 He2 + e-1

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 14 14 0
C6 N7 + e-1
 Another naturally occurring
radioactive isotope is potassium 40.
There are three modes of radioactive
decay of this nuclide:
(i) β- emission,
(ii) positron emission, and
(iii) electron capture:
40
K19  40
Ca20 + 0
e-1
40
K19  40
Ar18 + 0
e+1
40
K19 + 0
e-1  40
Ar18

7.4. The Half Life (t1/2):

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It is the time required for one-half of a
statistically large number of nuclei to
decay.
Half lives range from microseconds
(radium 218 has t1/2 of 14 µs) to billions of
years (t1/2 for uranium 238 is 4.51 x 109
years).

7.5. Energetic of Nuclear Reactions:

 In 1905, Albert Einstein derived the
equation for the equivalence of mass
and energy:

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E = mc
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  The constant c , the square of the
2

speed of light in m/s [3 x 108] relates

energy in joules and mass in
kilograms. Hence C2 = 9 x 1016

 In a Spontaneous nuclear reaction,

a small quantity of matter is
transformed into a corresponding
very high quantity of energy.

The energy equivalent to 1 atomic mass unit

(u) [means one proton or one neutron].
Mass equivalent (in kg) of 1 u:
Number of atomic mass units in one 12C atom = 12 u

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Molar mass of 12C = 12 g
Since one mole contains 6.0221 X 1023 atoms

Mass of one 12C atom [for C, atom =

molecule] = 12 / 6.0221 X 1023 =

1.9927 X 10-23 g = mass of 12 atomic mass unit

Hence, the mass of one atomic unit [1 u]

1 u = [1/12] X 1.9927 X 10-23 g

= 1.6606 X 10-24 g = 1.6606 X 10-27 kg

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From Einstein's equation: E = mc
= 1.6606 X 10-27 kg X (2.9979 X 108)2 m2 s-2
-10 2 -2 -10
=1.4924 X 10 kg m s = 1.4924 X 10 J

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Example
Determine how much energy is released when 2
kg Uranium-238 decays to Thorium-234.
 Atomic mass of U = 238.0508,
 Atomic mass of Alpfa particle = 4.0026,
 Atomic mass of Th = 234.0436 unit,
 one atomic unit = 1.66 x 10-27 kg

Answer:
This is an alpha decay. The reaction for
one atom would be...

For masses we get...

238.0508u → 4.0026u + 234.0436u

Add up the stuff on the right side...

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 238.0508 u > 238.0462 u

The difference for one atom = 0.0046 u

Since 1u = 1.66 x 10-27 kg

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E = mc =
(0.0046u x 1.66 x 10-27 kg/u) (3.00 x 108 m/s)2 =

6.87 x 10-13 J [for one atom]

For one mole of U,

E = 6.87 x 10-13 x 6.02 x 1023 J

= 4.135 x 1011 J

For 2 kg of U, [multiply by number of moles in

2 kg]

E = (2000/238) x 4.135 x 1011 = 3.475 x 1012 J

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