Different Forms of Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the first element of the periodic table. It is an odourless, tasteless and colourless gas under normal conditions. It is made up of diatomic molecules H2, and it is represented by the symbol H having atomic number 1. Hydrogen is made up of one electron and one proton. It is one of the significant compounds of water (H2O) and all the other organic substances present on the Earth. Saturn and Jupiter are made up of Hydrogen which shows that this gas is spread out all over the universe. The three naturally existing forms of Hydrogen are protium, Deuterium, and tritium. So, below notes, we will briefly discuss these forms of Hydrogen.

Protium ( 1H )

The fundamental hydrogen atom, protium, has a single proton made of a single electron. An element’s isotope is specified as an atom with the same no. of protons but a different number of neutrons. The letter H denotes protium, which is the standard form of Hydrogen. Protium is made up of one proton and no neutrons. In contrast to the normal hydrogen atom, which has 1 electron, 1 proton, and zero neutrons, Deuterium possesses one neutron & 1 proton.

Protium Symbol

The chemical denotation of the Protium symbol is 1H. An element symbol of an isotope is represented by:

A = EZ

Here, 

Z = no. of electrons = no. of protons= atomic no.

A = no. of protons + no. of neutrons = mass no.

Deuterium ( 2H)

Heavy Hydrogen, often known as Deuterium, is one of the stable isotopes of Hydrogen. Deuterium comes from the Greek term deuterons, which means “second.” A deuteron is the nucleus of a hydrogen-deuterium atom, which contains one proton & one neutron. There is no neutron in protium. In the oceans, Deuterium is found in an abundance of around one atom for every 6420 hydrogens. As a result, Deuterium accounts for about 0.02 percent (0.03 percent by mass) of all hydrogens found naturally in the seas, whereas protium accounts for the remaining 99.98 percent.

What are the uses of Deuterium?

• In Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, deuterated water is utilised.
• It is used in nuclear reactors as a moderator.
• It can be used to determine the human body’s metabolic rate.
• It is utilised as the major tracer element to track the photosynthesis process in plants.
• Magnetic field stabilisation is maintained when Deuterium is used in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
• It’s used to figure out which chemical compounds have isotopologues.
• It is employed in Infrared Spectroscopy in its heavy water form.
• Tritium is a key component of the nuclear fusion reaction. Deuterium is used to control it.

Tritium ( 3H )

Tritium, often referred to as hydrogen-3 (tritium symbol T or 3H), is an exceedingly uncommon radioactive isotope of Hydrogen. In its nucleus, tritium has 1 proton & two neutrons, whereas hydrogen-1 only has one proton & hydrogen-2 has 1 proton and neutron.

Properties of the Tritium 

• In all atomic nuclei, protons are the only electrically charged particles. Hence, they resist each other because opposite charges repel each other. The random movements of atoms can overcome electrical repulsion & bring them close enough for strong nuclear force to take action, fusing them into heavy nuclei if the pressure and temperature are high enough.
• The tritium nucleus has a single proton and double neutrons have the same charge as an ordinary hydrogen nucleus and experience the same electrostatic repelling force when brought close to another atomic nucleus. The neutrons in the tritium nucleus, however, augment the attractive nuclear solid force when placed close enough to another atomic nucleus.
• Tritium is difficult to confine, as are the other hydrogen isotopes, and Permeable materials include rubber, steel, and plastic. This has raised concerns that using large amounts of tritium, especially for fusion reactors, could result in radioactive pollution, regardless of the fact that its half should prevent significant long-term development in the atmosphere.
• Tritium is an extremely rare radioactive isotope on Earth, and only tiny amounts are produced when gases in the atmosphere interact with cosmic rays. It is a low-abundance byproduct of normal nuclear reactor operations that can be intentionally produced in a nuclear reactor by bombarding lithium.

Conclusion 

In the above, we have studied the different forms of Hydrogen that exist in our environment. So, the three naturally existing forms of Hydrogen are protium, Deuterium, and tritium. Hydrogen isotopes are not confused with hydrogen allotropes, and different versions of the same element are known as allotropes. Allotropes are other from isotopes in that they are the various ways that atoms of the same type join together. We also have learned about the molecular formula, atomic formula applications, and uses of the different forms of Hydrogen.