Inorganic Chemistry

The study of synthesis and behaviour of organometallic and organic compounds is known as inorganic chemistry. This branch explains the inorganic chemistry meaning. There are over one lakh inorganic compounds found on the earth’s surface.

It covers the study of all the chemical compounds, save for the myriad or carbon compounds. Organic chemistry comprises the study of these compounds. 

Inorganic chemistry has a vital role in many industries. It has a special corner in chemistry and is the skeletal structure of the agricultural, chemical and medical industries. 

How are Inorganic Compounds Classified? 

We can classify inorganic compounds as acids, bases, oxides and salts.  Let us see what they are:

1. Acids 

The compounds which dissolve in water to form hydrogen ions are called acids. They have a very low pH value and are highly corrosive. They taste sour and have significant usage in chemical laboratories and industries. 

Some of the acids in nature are nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, carbonic acid, sulphuric acid, etc. Have a look at this chemical equation involving an acid for a better understanding:

HCl + H2O→H+ + Cl−

2. Bases

The chemical compounds which release the hydroxyl ions when in water are called the bases in inorganic chemistry. It acts as an acid neutraliser that reacts with hydrogen ions. The bases are usually minerals that react with the acids to give water and salt. 

They are usually the carbonates, the oxides and the hydroxides of metals. Some of them are sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Potassium hydroxide (KOH), Ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), etc.

We can understand how they release the hydroxyl ions when dissolved in water with this example of a chemical equation:

KOH + H2O→ K+ + OH−

3. Oxides

These are the compounds that contain at least a single oxygen atom. An oxide is a dianion of oxygen in itself. The anion is usually in the oxidation state of -2. Although oxides can form when oxygen reacts with the other elements, it reacts with the noble gases under special chemical conditions and is, thus, very rarely found.

Salts

Salts in chemistry are the products of reactions between acids and bases. Along with the salts, water is also released. It is a chemical compound made up of an anion and a cation. Sodium chloride is a typical example of salt.

HCl     +   NaOH   →   NaCl   +   H2O

Acid             Base            Salt         Water

Organometallic Chemistry 

Organometallic compounds have at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom (of an organic molecule) and a metal (alkaline, alkaline earth, and transition metals). They also include metalloids under special conditions. Chemical industries and other medical industries usually use them as homogeneous catalysts. 

Many chemical compounds with these bonds are chemically identical to each other. An alternative can be the compounds with metallic bonds of a covalent nature. It helps blend the compounds of organic chemistry with the compounds of inorganic chemistry.

They contain direct metal-carbon bonds without the use of organic ligands. Some examples of organometallic compounds include the Gilman reagents (containing copper and lithium) and Grignard’s reagent, which contains magnesium.

One example of a naturally occurring organometallic compound is methylcobalamin. It is a form of vitamin B12 that contains cobalt-methyl bonds. This compound has great chemical and biological significance. They are highly covalent and are usually in a solid-state at room temperature.

Coordination Chemistry 

The coordination compounds have been in use long before the discovery of inorganic compounds. The study of the structure and bonding of the coordination compounds started because of Tassaert’s inquisitiveness. 

Swiss chemist Alfre Warner was the first to propose the theory of the existence of coordination compounds. His theory explained many things about the characteristics and relation of the coordination compounds. 

Although the theory was apt and enlightening, it failed to explain the phenomenon of the colouration and the magnetic properties of the coordination compounds.

Coming to the nomenclature of the coordination compounds, the cation is named first, and the anion comes later in the name. It stays the same, irrespective of the ion being simple or complex. But, if it is a complex ion, the ligands are named first, followed by the name of the central metal atom.

Their magnetic momentum depends on the number of unpaired electrons in the orbitals.

Transition Elements

The transition elements are partially filled with d-orbitals in their penultimate shells. They can give rise to the cations with an incomplete d-subshell. They can be easily recognised or detected owing to their unique electronic configuration. 

The glaring exceptions to this group are the elements zinc, cadmium, and mercury. These elements do not have a partially filled d-orbital. We classify them under transition elements because their properties are usually an extension of the properties of the transition elements.

P-Block Elements

The elements from group 13 to group 18 of the periodic table are called the p-block elements. Their nature depends significantly on their ionisation enthalpy, atomic size, electronegativity and electron gain enthalpy.  

Other properties also influence their nature. They are the existence of d or f orbitals in the heavier elements and the absence of the d-orbitals in the second period.

Conclusion

Inorganic chemistry is an important branch of chemistry that shoulders the working of the chemical and the medical industries in the world. They have their application in the fields of medicine and healthcare. 

They give us various salts to use in our day-to-day lives and other inorganic compounds used for conducting experiments in the chemistry labs. Besides these things, inorganic chemistry has excellent use in the ceramic industries and the electrical field (where silicon is used in bulk).