Physical and Chemical Properties of Oxygen

In chemistry, every element that exists is considered a pure material made up of atoms with a specific amount of protons in their nucleus. Unlike various other chemical compounds, elements in chemistry cannot be broken down into different substances by any chemical process.

Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, etc., are the most common chemical elements and components in the life of a living organism. These three elements, along with several other elements in the field of chemistry, together make up the vast bulk of the earth’s environment and atmosphere. An atom is a chemical element’s smallest unit of every element.

In this module, we will learn and know about the concept of Physical and Chemical Properties of Nitrogen and the physical and chemical properties of liquid nitrogen.

Physical and Chemical Properties of Oxygen

Oxygen is a gas that has no taste in nature, naturally. Oxygen has colour or smell too. It takes up and occupies almost twenty-two per cent of the air. Oxygen is found inside the human body, on the sun’s surface, and even in oceans and the atmosphere that surrounds us. 

Oxygen is part of the air that every single human being uses to breathe, and it also plays an important role in the human process of respiration. If a human is exposed to atmospheres containing twelve per cent or less oxygen per cent will surely become unconscious without any prior hints or warning. Oxygen also plays an important part in the stellar life cycle.

Basic Properties of Oxygen

1. The Melting Point of Oxygen is 219 degrees Celsius.

2. The Boiling Point of Oxygen is around 183 degrees Celsius.

3. Oxygen bears four different species of isotopes.

4. The element oxygen was first discovered by a scientist named Joseph Priestly in 1774.

5. The Electronegativity of Oxygen is around 3.5

6. Oxygen is one of the chemical elements that are soluble in water.

7. The Atomic Number of Oxygen is 8 (that is, the number of protons present in its nucleus)

8. The Atomic Mass of Oxygen is 16 (The total mass of the protons, neutrons, and electrons found in the atom.)

9. Oxygen comes under a class called non-metals or gases.

10. Oxygen was used as the standard measure for weights used to find the weight of various other elements until it was switched by carbon.

11. Oxygen is colourless in nature.

12. Oxygen is very reactive in its elemental form. Its most common form is O₂, 

13. O3 is one other form of oxygen which is called ozone.

Oxygen is often termed as a non-liquefied gas at pressures of 2000 PSIG (that is 138 bar) or more, also as a cryogenic liquid that is at a pressure and temperature below 200 PSIG (that is 13.8 bar) and -232°F (that is -146.5°C). 

When the pressure in an aeroplane drops abruptly, an emergency supply of oxygen is instantly made available to the passengers. This oxygen is kept as the chemical sodium chlorate rather than oxygen gas.

Uses of Oxygen

Because it is a component of DNA and nearly all other physiologically significant molecules, oxygen is vital for all forms of life. It is considerably more dramatic in that animals must have a constant supply of gas to thrive. The iron atom in the core of haemoglobin in the blood picks up oxygen in the lungs and transports it to where it is required.

1. Oxygen’s used in paper and pulp manufacturing industries, various ceramic items, glass item industries, and some petroleum processing units. 

2. Oxygen is also part of the field of pharmaceuticals as well as metal refining.

3. Oxygen is produced at various air-separation plants by the liquefaction of the present atmospheric air around us and the separation of oxygen by the process of fractionation. Minimal quantities are produced by the process of ‘electrolysis of water.

4. Oxygen is an essential need and is commonly used in medicine, flying at higher altitudes, diving in deep-sea, and as a source of power in numerous different programs related to space. 

5. Industrial Oxygen applications commonly include the utilisation of acetylene, propane, and various fuel gases for common purposes such as cutting of metals, welding of metals, scarfing and hardening of metals, etc.

6. One of the major uses and common uses of Oxygen is to produce synthesis gas used to make gasoline, ammonia, and methanol. 

7. Oxygen is also used to produce ethylene, nitric acid, and other compounds.

8. In medical terms, to treat pneumonia and poisoning due to harmful gases, oxygen is used as an anaesthetic in the mixture with nitrous oxide, vapours of ether, etc.

9. Oxygen gas finds its use in numerous industrial processes.

10. Oxygen gas is often used with hydrogen gas in blowpipes and acetylene in the oxy-acetylene torches for welding purposes and cutting metal elements.

11. Liquid oxygen plus powdered charcoal has its use as a dangerous explosive.

12. Oxygen is essential for all burning/combustion processes, like, the burning of hydrocarbon fuels, namely-  coal, oil, natural gas, petrol, which heat homes and give power to our cars.

Conclusion

Approximately half of the earth’s crust comprises chemical compounds containing oxygen, and a fifth of our entire atmosphere is taken up by oxygen gas. The human body is about two-thirds oxygen.

Oxygen is essential for all living beings on this planet. Nearly twenty-two per cent of the world’s Oxygen is found in the solid earth and earth’s atmosphere.

Although oxygen has been present since the beginning of science-based investigations, it was not discovered and recognised as a boycotted element until 1774 when sir Joseph Priestley of England stated its existence. Joseph Priestley later separated oxygen by heating mercuric oxide inside an inverted test tube with the centralised rays of the sun.

This article aims to impart knowledge and importance related to the concept of Physical and Chemical Properties of Oxygen and the chemical properties of the oxygen family to help students learn the topic easily.