Non-Metals

In chemistry, a nonmetal is a chemical element that does not have a predominance of metallic qualities. Nonmetals can range from colorless vapors to glossy and refractory (high melting point) solids, and from poor to excellent conductors of heat and electricity, depending on their composition. Solid nonmetals are fragile to crumbly, cannot be easily flattened into sheets or drawn into wires without shattering or breaking, and have low to no structural strength. Solid nonmetals are also brittle to crumbly. In contrast to metals, which have free-moving electrons that explain why metals are good conductors of heat and electricity and why most of them are plastic (malleable, ductile), nonmetals, with some exceptions, have electrons that are fixed in place and less mobile, which explains why nonmetals have generally weaker conducting properties and why solids are brittle in comparison to metallic solids. Nonmetal atoms have an electronegative charge ranging from moderate to high; as a result, they tend to attract electrons in chemical processes and to produce acidic compounds.

Ordinary matter in the observable universe is dominated by two nonmetals: hydrogen and helium, which together account for approximately 99 percent of its mass. The Earth’s crust, atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere are mostly composed of five nonmetallic elements: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and silicon. Hydrogen is the most abundant nonmetallic element on the planet.

The majority of nonmetals have biological, technical, or household functions or applications. Living beings are essentially entirely made of the nonmetals hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, with little amounts of other elements. Almost every nonmetal has a specific application in health and pharmaceuticals, lasers and illumination, and everyday household products.

Properties of Non-metals

High ionization energies and electronegativity are two characteristics of nonmetals that distinguish them from metals. Because of these characteristics, nonmetals typically gain electrons when reacting with other compounds, resulting in the formation of covalent bonds. The anionic dopants, which are found in non-metals, have a significant impact on the VB. Carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, sulfur, and iodine are examples of non-metal dopants.

The following are the general properties of non-metals

• The atoms of nonmetals are typically smaller in size than the atoms of metals. The atomic sizes of nonmetals are responsible for a number of their other characteristics.
• Non-metals have extremely low electrical conductivities compared to metals. In non-metals, the lowest or non-existent electrical conductivity is the most essential attribute that distinguishes them from metallic counterparts.
• Non-metals have high electronegativities, whereas metals have low electronegativities. Thus, non-metal atoms have a strong tendency to attract more electrons than they would otherwise have.
• Non-metals have high electronegativities, whereas metals have low electronegativities. In other words, the atoms of nonmetals have a strong inclination to hold on to the electrons that they have already accumulated. Metals, on the other hand, readily give up one or more electrons to nonmetals, resulting in the formation of positively charged ions and the conductivity of electrical current.
• Some non-metals are discovered as gasses, while others are found as solids, and one is found as a liquid when exposed to typical temperature and pressure conditions. At room temperature, on the other hand, all metals, with the exception of mercury, are solids. In light of the fact that a large number of non-metals exist as liquids or gasses, non-metals have generally low melting and boiling points under normal atmospheric circumstances.
• Nonmetals have a tendency to be fragile when in their solid state. As a result, they lack the malleability and ductility that metals possess.

Physical Properties of Nonmetals

• Ductility is a quality of the material that will be stretched into wires, but non-metals, with the exception of carbon, are not ductile. Carbon fibers are used in a range of industries, including sports and music equipment, and are therefore not ductile.
• The trait of malleability, which is characteristic of metals, is missing in nonmetallic materials. They cannot be drawn into sheets because they are brittle and break when pressure is applied to them.
• They do not have a lustrous aspect since they do not have any shine to them.
• In the event that they are struck by another material, they do not produce any sonorous tones or produce a deep ringing sound. With the exception of graphite, they are also poor conductors of heat and electricity.

Chemical Properties of Nonmetals

• Nonmetals are weak conductors of heat and electricity, and their conductivity is decreasing. Graphite and gas carbon are the exceptions to this rule.
• Nonmetals, in contrast to metals, are not malleable or ductile.
• Metals react more with nonmetals than nonmetals react with metals.
• Nonmetals typically react with other nonmetals when exposed to high temperatures.
• At room temperature, the majority of nonmetals do not react with air.
• White phosphorus is the only nonmetal that interacts with air to generate its oxide, which is then released into the atmosphere.
• Nonmetals, on the other hand, rarely react with water. With the exception of chlorine, all other elements dissolve in water to generate an acidic solution.
• Nonmetals have a low density compared to metals.
• They do not combine to make alloys. Nonmetals, on the other hand, include carbon, silicon, and phosphorus.
• At room temperature, nonmetals can be found in all forms of matter, including solids and liquids.
• Nonmetals react in a variety of ways, depending on their composition.
• It is the most reactive metal in the halogen family, which includes chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), fluorine (F), and other elements (F). The reactivity of the halogen family is arranged as Cl > Br > I in ascending order.
• Because of this, chlorine (Cl) can displace bromine (Br) and iodine (I) from solutions of bromides (NaBr) and iodides (Iodides), respectively (NaI).
• The formation of ionic solids occurs as a result of the reaction of nonmetals with high electronegativity with alkali and alkaline earth metals.

Conclusion

 Metals are excellent conductors of heat and electricity, but nonmetallic materials are not. There are no nonmetals that conduct electricity save for mercury, and there are no nonmetals that conduct electricity except for graphite. Metals have valance electrons with values of 1, 2, or 3, whereas non-metals have values greater than 3.

Non-metallic elements are critical to the survival of human life on the planet. Carbon, a non-metallic element, is a critical component of our food supply. Water, which accounts for more than half of our body’s volume, is a composite of two non-metal gases, namely hydrogen and oxygen. The existence of life is impossible to imagine without the presence of non-metals.