NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY

AND
ENERGY
RHONA C. ADAJAR
 NUCLEAR STABILITY

Nuclear Chemistry
- study of reactions involving changes in atomic nuclei.
- study of reactions that involve changes in nuclear structure.
 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 Curie and Henri Becquerel for discovering radioactivity; the
second for discovering the radioactive elements radium and polonium).
 INTRODUCTION

• Recall that the number of protons in the nucleus is

called the atomic number ( Z ) of the element, and the
sum of the number of protons and the number of
neutrons is the mass number ( A ).
• Atoms with the same atomic number but different
mass numbers are isotopes of the same element. When
referring to a single type of nucleus, we often use the
term nuclide and identify it by the notation:
 DEFINITION

• Nucleons – protons and neutrons

• all atoms of a given element have the same number of
protons, atomic number
• isotopes – atoms with the same atomic number but different
mass numbers
• three isotopes of uranium: uranium-234, uranium-235,
uranium-238
• radionuclides – nuclei that are radioactive
• radioisotopes – atoms containing radionuclides
 NUCLEAR REACTION

• Changes of nuclei that result in changes in their atomic numbers, mass numbers, or energy states
are nuclear reactions.
• A balanced nuclear reaction equation indicates that there is a rearrangement during a nuclear
reaction, but of subatomic particles rather than atoms.
• Nuclear reactions also follow conservation laws, and they are balanced in two ways:
1. The sum of the mass numbers of the reactants equals the sum of the mass numbers of the
products.
2. The sum of the charges of the reactants equals the sum of the charges of the products.
 RADIOACTIVITY

• Radioactivity
- refers to the particles which are emitted from nuclei as a result of
nuclear instability.
- Because the nucleus experiences the intense conflict between the
two strongest forces in nature, it should not be surprising that
there are many nuclear isotopes which are unstable and emit some
kind of radiation.
- All elements having an atomic number greater than 83 are
radioactive.
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

• Alpha α Decay
- Many nuclei with mass numbers greater than 200 undergo alpha (α) decay, which results in the
emission of a helium-4 nucleus as an alpha (α) particle. The general reaction is as follows:

Example:
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

• Beta β− Decay
- Nuclei that contain too many neutrons often undergo beta (β) decay, in which a neutron is
converted to a proton and a high-energy electron that is ejected from the nucleus as a β particle:

Example:
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

• Positron β+ Emission
- Because a positron has the same mass as an electron but opposite charge, positron emission is the
opposite of beta decay. Thus positron emission is characteristic of neutron-poor nuclei, which
decay by transforming a proton to a neutron and emitting a high-energy positron:

Example:
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

• Electron Capture
- A neutron-poor nucleus can decay by either positron emission or electron capture (EC), in which
an electron in an inner shell reacts with a proton to produce a neutron:

Example:
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

• Gamma γ Emission
- some unstable atomic nuclei dissipate excess energy by a spontaneous electromagnetic process.
- In the most common form of gamma decay, known as gamma emission, gamma rays (photons,
or packets of electromagnetic energy, of extremely short wavelength) are radiated.

Example:
Example:
 NUCLEAR DECAY REACTIONS

•  Spontaneous Fission
- Only very massive nuclei with high neutron-to-proton ratios can undergo spontaneous fission, in
which the nucleus breaks into two pieces that have different atomic numbers and atomic masses.
- This process is most important for the transactinide elements, with Z ≥ 104.
- Spontaneous fission is invariably accompanied by the release of large amounts of energy, and it
is usually accompanied by the emission of several neutrons as well.
- An example is the spontaneous fission of Cf , which gives a distribution of fission products; one
possible set of products is shown in the following equation:
 TRANSMUTATION, NUCLEAR FISSION
AND FUSION
• Nuclear Transmutations
- nuclear reactions caused by the collision of one nucleus with a neutron or by another nucleus
- 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.
 TRANSMUTATION, NUCLEAR FISSION
AND FUSION
• 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.
- reactions in which an atom's nucleus splits into smaller parts,
releasing a large amount of energy in the process. Most
commonly this is done by "firing" a neutron at the nucleus of
an atom. The energy of the neutron "bullet" causes the target
element to split into two (or more) elements that are lighter
than the parent atom.
During the fission of U235, three neutrons are released in addition to the two daughter products. If these released
neutrons collide with nearby U235 nuclei, they can stimulate the fission of these atoms and start a self-sustaining
nuclear chain reaction. This chain reaction is the basis of nuclear power. As uranium atoms continue to split, a
significant amount of energy is released from the reaction. The heat released during this reaction is harvested
and used to generate electrical energy.
 TRANSMUTATION, NUCLEAR FISSION
AND FUSION
• Nuclear fusion
- reactions in which two or more elements "fuse" together to form one larger element, releasing
energy in the process. A good example is the fusion of two "heavy" isotopes of hydrogen
(deuterium: H2 and tritium: H3) into the element helium.
 TRANSMUTATION, NUCLEAR FISSION
AND FUSION
• Fusion reactions release tremendous amounts of
energy and are commonly referred to as
thermonuclear reactions.
• Although many people think of the sun as a large
fireball, the sun (and all stars) are actually enormous
fusion reactors. Stars are primarily gigantic balls of
hydrogen gas under tremendous pressure due to
gravitational forces.
• Hydrogen molecules are fused into helium and
heavier elements inside of stars, releasing energy that
we receive as light and heat.
NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
AND
ENERGY
RHONA C. ADAJAR