Nuclear

Chemistry and
Energy
Unit 2. Matter and Energy: D

Engr. Tiffany Jade Medrano

Topic Outline
● Nuclear Stability
● Transmutation, Nuclear Fission and Fusion
Nuclear Chemistry
Nuclear Chemistry is the study of reactions involving changes in
atomic nuclei.

It all started with the discovery of natural radioactivity by Antoine

Becquerel and grows with the works of Pierre and Marie Curie and
many others.
Nuclear Stability
Nuclear Stability
● All nuclei contain two kinds of fundamental particles, proton and
neutron, except
● Some nuclei are unstable; they emit particles and/or
electromagnetic radiation spontaneously and this is known as
radioactivity.
● All elements having an atomic number greater than 83 are
radioactive.
Nuclear Stability
The symbols for elementary particles are as follows:
Nuclear Stability
● The symbol represents an electron in or from an atomic orbital.

● The symbol represents an electron that, although physically identical to any

other electron, comes from a nucleus (in a decay process in which a neutron is
converted to a proton and an electron) and not from an atomic orbital.

● The positron has the same mass as the electron, but bears a +1 charge.
,,

● The α particle has two protons and two neutrons, so its atomic number is 2 and its
mass number is 4.
Nuclear Stability
● The total number of protons plus neutrons in the products and in the
reactants must be the same (conservation of mass number).
● The total number of nuclear charges in the products and in the reactants
must be the same (conservation of atomic number).

If we know the atomic numbers and mass numbers of all the species but one in a

nuclear equation, we can identify the unknown species by applying these rules.
Practice!
Nuclear Stability
● The nucleus occupies a very small portion of the total volume of an atom,
but it contains most of the atom’s mass because both the protons and the
neutrons reside there.
● In studying the stability of the atomic nucleus, it is helpful to know
something about its density, because it tells us how tightly the particles
are packed together.
Nuclear Stability
● Coulomb’s law we know that like charges repel and unlike charges attract
one another. Protons to repel one another strongly.

● In addition to the repulsion, there are also short-range attractions

between proton and proton, proton and neutron, and neutron and
neutron.
Nuclear Stability
● The stability of any nucleus is determined by the difference
between coulombic repulsion and the short-range attraction.
● If repulsion outweighs attraction, the nucleus disintegrates,
emitting particles and/or radiation.
● If attractive forces prevail, the nucleus is stable.
Nuclear Stability
Neutron-to Proton Ratio (n/p) - The principal factor that determines whether a
nucleus is stable.

Stable atoms of elements having low atomic number has n/p value is close to 1.

As the atomic number increases, the neutron-to-proton ratios of the stable nuclei
become greater than 1.

This deviation at higher atomic numbers arises because a larger number of

neutrons is needed to counteract the strong repulsion among the protons and
stabilize the nucleus.
Rules for Predicting Nuclear Stability
● Nuclei that contain 2, 8, 20, 50, 82, or 126 protons or neutrons are generally more stable
than nuclei that do not possess these numbers. The numbers 2, 8, 20, 50, 82, and 126 are
called magic numbers. The significance of these numbers for nuclear stability is similar
to the numbers of electrons associated with the very stable noble gases (that is, 2, 10, 18,
36, 54, and 86 electrons).

● Nuclei with even numbers of both protons and neutrons are generally more stable than
those with odd numbers of these particles.

● All isotopes of the elements with atomic numbers higher than 83 are radioactive. All
isotopes of technetium (Tc, Z 5 43) and promethium (Pm, Z 5 61) are radioactive.
Transmutation, Nuclear Fission and Fusion
Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear transmutation is the result from the bombardment of nuclei by
neutrons, protons, or other nuclei.

An example of a nuclear transmutation is the conversion of atmospheric

which results when the nitrogen isotope captures a
neutron (from the sun).
Nuclear Transmutation
In some cases, heavier elements are synthesized from lighter elements. This
type of transmutation occurs naturally in outer space, but it can also be
achieved artificially.

Nuclear transmutation differs from radioactive decay in that the former is

brought about by the collision of two particles.
Nuclear Transmutation
Transuranium elements - elements with atomic numbers greater than 92.

Particle accelerators made it possible to synthesize the so-called

transuranium elements.

Neptunium (Z 5 93) was first prepared in 1940. Since then, 23 other

transuranium elements have been synthesized. All isotopes of these elements
are radioactive. A particle accelerator uses electric and magnetic fields to
increase the kinetic energy of charged species so that a reaction will occur.
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is the process in which a heavy nucleus (mass number. 200)
divides to form smaller nuclei of intermediate mass and one or more
neutrons. Because the heavy nucleus is less stable than its products, this process
releases a large amount of energy.

The first nuclear fission reaction to be studied was that of uranium-235

bombarded with slow neutrons, whose speed is comparable to that of air
molecules at room temperature.
Nuclear Fission
Although many heavy nuclei can be made to undergo fission, only the fission
of naturally occurring uranium-235 and of the artificial isotope plutonium-239
has any practical importance.

The significant feature of uranium-235 fission is not just the enormous

amount of energy released, but the fact that more neutrons are produced than
are originally captured in the process.
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear chain reaction - a self- sustaining sequence of nuclear fission
reactions.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion - the combining of small nuclei into larger ones, is largely
exempt from the waste disposal problem.

For the lightest elements, nuclear stability increases with increasing mass
number. This behavior suggests that if two light nuclei combine or fuse
together to form a larger, more stable nucleus, an appreciable amount of
energy will be released in the process.
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion occurs constantly in the sun. The sun is made up mostly of
hydrogen and helium. Because fusion reactions take place only at very high
temperatures, they are often called thermonuclear reactions.

A major concern in choosing the proper nuclear fusion process for energy
production is the temperature necessary to carry out the process.

These reactions take place at extremely high temperatures, on the order of

100 million degrees Celsius, to overcome the repulsive forces between the
nuclei.
Nuclear Fusion
In contrast to the fission process, nuclear fusion looks like a very promising energy
source, at least “on paper.”

Although thermal pollution would be a problem, fusion has the following

advantages:

● The fuels are cheap and almost inexhaustible and

● The process produces little radioactive waste. If a fusion machine were
turned off, it would shut down completely and instantly, without any danger
of a meltdown.