![]() Toxicity: non-toxic, but if exposed to iridium dust it can cause eye and throat irritation.Found naturally in platinum group metal ores.Stable Isotopes: iridium-77 and iridium-192.Electron shell configuration: 6s 25d 7.Natural abundance in the Earth’s crust: 0.001 ppm.Iridium can have a range of oxidation states from -3 to +9. The radioisotope, iridium-192, has a half-life of about 74 days. The most common and stable isotope is iridium-77. The element iridium has two naturally occurring isotopes. Drying and burning the compound in the presence of hydrogen gas produces pur iridium. The compound is then placed in another strong acid called aqua regia. Dissolving the ore in strong acid produces iridium oxide. Platinum group ores typically contain the element iridium. However, halogens are extremely reactive and will react with iridium.Īdditionally, when heated iridium can form iridium oxide, a black residue. The element iridium is mostly unreactive. Iridium in Chemistry – Compounds, Reactions, Isotopes, Oxidation States Iridium Element Compounds and Reactions Tennant also used this method to discover osmium! Tennant lived from 1761 to 1815. Iridium then deposited as a residue on the glass. He took a sample of crude platinum (impure platinum) and dissolved it in an extremely strong acid. When and How was Iridium Discovered?Įnglish chemist, Smithson Tennant in 1803 discovered iridium. Canada, Russia and South Africa are the top producers of iridium from mining the sulfide layers of various igneous rocks. Alloys with platinum groups commonly contain iridium. Iridium is rarely found in nature by itself. Thus, coatings for electrical contact points, sparkplugs for large machines such as helicopters and as electrodes in some experiments sometimes contain the element iridium. Iridium is also a transition metal, so it does have conductive properties. Thus, the jewelry industry capitalizes on this and uses this alloy in the backing of luxury watches. The resulting material is resistant to corrosion and tarnish and is extremely durable. The most common of these in alloy with platinum. However, it works great in collaboration with other elements that we call alloys. Since the element iridium is rare, it doesn’t have a lot of practical applications. It revealed a spike in the iridium level! This led the two scientists to believe that a massive meteor struck the Earth’s surface simultaneously depositing large amounts of iridium and eradicating the dinosaurs. Knowing this, the two scientists examined a deep layer of the Earth’s crust. The surface of meteorites contains more iridium than the Earth’s crust. In 1980, two scientists (one a physicist and the other a geologist) Luis and Walter Alvarez, proposed a theory for the extinction of the dinosaurs. It sounds crazy but scientists actually use the presence of iridium in certain layers of the Earth to uncover what happened to the dinosaurs. Iridium’s Use in Today’s World The Element Iridium & Dinosaurs? ![]() Additionally, the element has an electronegativity of 2.2 on the Pauling scale. It has an electron configuration of 6s 25d 7. The element iridium is the twenty-sixth element in the transition metals. The elements rhodium and meitnerium are above and below iridium. It is located in the d-block of the periodic table, between osmium and platinum. Iridium has the atomic symbol Ir with an atomic number of 77. The ballpoint of pens are sometimes produced with alloys of osmium and the element iridium.The standard kilogram was created from measuring an alloy that was 90% platinum and 10% iridium.Iridium is found in space more often than on Earth.Three tons of iridium are produced annually. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |