GROUP II CATIONS

Consists of:

GROUP II – A

Hg2+ Pb+ Bi+3 Cu+2 Cd+2

GROUP II – B

Arsenic, Antimony, Tin

GROUP II – A CATIONS
 MERCURY
Physical properties:

• It is shiny liquid.
• It is poisonous substance.
• It solidifies at -39 oC.
• It melts at 357.25oC.
• It is good conductor of heat and
electricity.

Chemical properties:

• dissolves in nitric acid, aqua regia,

warm concentrated hydrochloric acid,
and sulfuric acid
• It does not react with oxygen in the
air very readily.
• Highly toxic
• Creates amalgams with gold and
silver.
Applications:

- thermometers
- barometers
- jewelery making
- contact switches
- alkaline batteries
- fluorescent light bulbs
- coating the back planes of mirrors
- catalyst in the production of polymer
products
- paints
- disinfectants, fungicides and pesticides
HAZARDS
 Nerve, brain, kidney
damage
 Lung and eye irritation
 Skin rashes
 Vomiting
 Diarrhea
 LEAD
Physical properties:
 relatively poor conductor of
electricity.
 It is very resistant to corrosion but
tarnishes upon exposure to air.
 Bluish-white and capable of being
shaped or bent.
Chemical properties:
 Dissolves slowly in water
 Does not readily react with oxygen in
the air.
 Reacts quickly with hot acids but
slowly to cold acids.
 Toxic
Applications:
 used for pipes, pewter and paint.
 It has also been used in lead glazes for
pottery and, insecticides, hair dyes and as
an anti-knocking additive for petrol.
 Lead is still widely used for car batteries,
pigments, ammunition, cable sheathing,
weights for lifting, weight belts for diving,
lead crystal glass, radiation protection and
in some solders.
 It is often used to store corrosive liquids. It
is also sometimes used in architecture, for
roofing and in stained glass windows.
Hazards:
 Rise in blood pressure
 Kidney damage
 Disruption of nervous system
 Brain damage
 Diminish learning abilities of
children
 Disruption of the biosynthesis of
haemoglobin and anaemia
 Miscarriages and subtle
abortions
 Disruption of nervous systems
Declined fertility of men
through sperm damage
 Behavioural disruptions of
children, such as aggression,
impulsive behavior and
hyperactivity.
 BISMUTH
Physical properties:
 Bismuth is a brittle metal with a white,
silver-pink hue, often occurring in its
native form, with an iridescent oxide
tarnish showing many colors from
yellow to blue.
 is not known to be toxic
 most naturally diamagnetic metal; this
means it resists being magnetized and
is repelled by a magnetic field
 has the unusual property that (like
water) it expands as it freezes
Chemical properties:
 combines slowly with oxygen at room
temperature.
 Bismuth also reacts with most acids.
Application:
 Bismuth metal is brittle and so
it is usually mixed with other
metals to make it useful.
 Basic bismuth carbonate is
taken in tablet or liquid form
for indigestion as bismuth
mixture.
 Bismuth oxide is used as a
yellow pigments for cosmetics
and paints, while bismuth(lll)
chloride oxide (BiClO) gives a
pearly effect to cosmetics.
Hazards:
• Bismuth metal is brittle and so it
is usually mixed with other metals
to make it useful.
• Basic bismuth carbonate is taken
in tablet or liquid form for
indigestion as bismuth mixture.
• Bismuth oxide is used as a yellow
pigments for cosmetics and paints,
while bismuth(lll) chloride oxide
(BiClO) gives a pearly effect to
cosmetics.
 COPPER
Physical properties:
 is malleable, ductile, and an
excellent conductor of heat and
electricity.
 is a reddish orange, soft metal
that takes on a bright metallic
luster.
Chemical properties:
 Atomic number: 29
 Atomic mass: 63.546g/mol
 Electronegativity: 1.9
 Density: 8.9g/mol³ at 20 °C
 Melting point: 1083 °C
 Boiling point: 2595 °C
Applications: Hazards:
 One of the metals used to • Metal fever
make coins, along with silver • Nose irritation
and gold. • Head and stomach aches
 Most of the coins are made up • Dizziness
of copper and gun metals are • Vomiting
also contain copper. • Diarrhea
• Intentionally high uptake can
 Most copper is used in
cause kidney damage, even death
electrical equipment such as
wiring and motors.
 It is also has uses in
construction (for example
roofing and plumbing), and
industrial machinery (such as
heat exchangers).
CADMIUM Chemical properties:
Physical properties:
Atomic number - 48
 Cadmium is a lustrous, Atomic mass - 112.4 g.mol -1
silver-white, ductile, very Density - 8.7 g.cm-3 at 20°C
malleable metal. Melting point - 321 °C
 a soft, bluish white metal
Boiling point - 767 °C
that can be easily cut with a
knife.
 It has similar characteristics
to zinc and mercury and it
tarnishes when exposed to
air.
The following are the application
areas of cadmium:

 Making of nickel-cadmium
batteries
 Pigments, coatings and plating
 Stabilizers in manufacture of
plastics
 Electroplating of steel
 Nuclear reactors.
 Cadmium compounds are used as
black and white television
phosphorus, photoconductive
surface in photocopier drums, paint
pigments and in PVC.
GROUP II – B CATIONS
ARSENIC
Physical properties: Chemical properties:
 Arsenic appears in three allotropic
forms: yellow, black and grey; the • Atomic number:33
stable form is a silver-gray, brittle • Atomic mass: 74.9216g/mol
crystalline solid. • Electronegativity:2.0
• Density:57g/cm³ at 14 °C
 It tarnishes rapidly in air, and at high
• Melting point:814 °C (36 atm)
temperatures burns forming a white
• Boiling point: 615 °C (sublimation)
cloud of arsenic trioxide.
 The metallic form is brittle, tarnishes
and when heated it rapidly oxidizes to
arsenic trioxide, which has a garlic
odor.
 The non metallic form is less reactive
but will dissolve when heated with
strong oxidizing acids and alkalis.
 is one of the most toxic elements that
can be found.
 Applications:
 As a result of its toxicity, arsenic
compounds are used in wood
preservation and insecticides.
 Small amounts of arsenic (less than
two percent) can be used in lead
alloys for ammunition.
 Despite of its potential toxicity,
arsenic is also an essential element,
necessary to our physiology. A level
of 0.00001% is needed for growth
and for a healthy nervous system.
 Inorganic arsenic was used in the
treatment of leukemia, psoriasis,
and chronic bronchial asthma.
 Organic arsenic was used in
antibiotics for the treatment of
spirochetal and protozoal disease.
 HAZARDS
 Stomach and intestine irritation
 Decreased in red blood cell production
 Lung irritation
 Uptake of significant amount can
intensify the chances of cancer
development (skin, lung, liver, lymphatic
cancer)
 High exposure can cause infertility and
miscarriages (women)
 Skin disturbances, declined resistance in
infection, heart disruption and brain
damage
 ANTIMONY
 is metalloid, so it has some metallic
properties but not enough to be
classified as a true metal
 Antimony’s electrical and thermal
conductivity are lower than most
metals’ conductivities
 is a brittle, fusible, crystalline solid.
It is easily powdered.
 also has the unusual property that
(like water) it expands as it freezes.
 In addition to the usual form of
antimony, there are three allotropes:
yellow crystalline, amorphous black,
and explosive
 Antimony is toxic and immediately
dangerous to life or health at 50 mg
m-3 or above
Applications: Hazards:
 The major use of antimony is
in lead alloys – mainly for use •Exposure to high
in batteries – adding hardness concentration for longer
and smoothness of finish. The
higher the proportion of period of time can cause eye,
antimony in the alloy, the skin and lung irritation
harder and more brittle it will As exposure continuous
be. more serious health effect
 Antimony alloys are therefore can occur ( lung diseases,
used in making typefaces for
clear, sharp printing. heart problems, diarrhea,
 It is used in the semiconductor severe vomiting and stomach
industry as an n-type dopant ulcer.
for silicon.
 Antimony compounds are used
to make flame-retardant
materials, paints, enamels, glass
and pottery.
 TIN
 Tin is considered to be non-toxic
but most tin salts are toxic
 is a silvery-white, soft, malleable
metal that can be highly polished
 has a highly crystalline structure and
when a tin bar is bent, a ‘tin cry’ is
heard, due to the breaking of these
crystals.
 resists oxygen and water but
dissolves in acids and bases
 Tin has two allotropic forms at
normal pressure, gray tin and white
tin
 Pure white tin slowly tends to
become the gray powder (gray
tin), a change commonly called
‘tin pest’ at temperatures below
13.2 oC.
 Gray tin has no metallic
properties at all.
Applications:
 Tin-plating of iron protects the
latter from corrosion.
 Tin piping and valves maintain
purity in water and beverages.
 Molten tin is the base for (float)
plate-glass production.
 Organic tin compounds act as
stabilizers in certain plastics and as
wood preservatives.
 Organic tin compounds commonly
used as biocides and fungicides are,
however, toxic to human being.
Hazards:
• Tin-plating of iron protects the
latter from corrosion.
• Tin piping and valves maintain
purity in water and beverages.
• Molten tin is the base for
(float) plate-glass production.
• Organic tin compounds act as
stabilizers in certain plastics and
as wood preservatives.
• Organic tin compounds
commonly used as biocides and
fungicides are, however, toxic to
human being.