Barium

Barium gets its name from the alchemical derivation “baryta,” which means “heavy.” The adjectival form of barium is baric.Barium has a limited number of industrial applications. It was once utilised as a getter for vacuum tubes and as an emissive coating on indirectly heated cathodes in oxide form. It’s found in YBCO (high-temperature superconductors) and electroceramics, and it’s used to minimize the size of carbon grains in steel and cast iron microstructures. To give fireworks a green color, barium compounds are used. In oil well drilling fluid, barium sulphate is utilized as an insoluble addition. It’s employed as an X-ray radiocontrast agent for imaging the human gastrointestinal tract in a purer form. Barium compounds that dissolve in water are harmful and have been employed as rodenticides.

Characteristics of barium:

• Physical:

When ultrapure, barium is a smooth, silvery-white metal with a little golden hue. When barium metal is oxidised in air, the silvery-white tint quickly fades, leaving a dark grey coating containing the oxide. The specific weight of barium is medium, and it possesses a high electrical conductivity. Many of barium’s qualities have yet to be established because it is difficult to purify.

Element properties:

• Chemical reactivity:

Chemically, barium is similar to magnesium, calcium, and strontium, however it is more reactive. It is always in the +2 oxidation state. The majority of exceptions are found in a few uncommon and unstable molecular species that can only be identified in the gas phase, such as BaF, however a barium(I) species has recently been discovered in a graphite intercalation compound. Exothermic (energy-releasing) reactions with chalcogens occur at room temperature, whereas reactions with oxygen or air occur at room temperature. As a result, metallic barium is frequently stored in an inert atmosphere or beneath oil. Other nonmetals, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and hydrogen, have exothermic reactions that occur when heated. Water and alcohol reactions are particularly exothermic, releasing hydrogen gas:

Ba + 2 ROH → Ba(OR)2 + H2↑ (R is an alkyl group or a hydrogen atom)

Barium water:

The majority of barium in water comes from natural sources, although it can also be found in the environment due to industrial emissions and anthropogenic usage. Depending on soil conditions, soluble barium compounds such as barium nitrate and barium chloride are likely to be mobile in the environment. Volatilization from water surfaces, as well as moist and dry soil surfaces, is unlikely to be a major fate process. Barium may adsorb to suspended particles and silt if released into water. The solubility of barium compounds rises as the pH falls. Soluble barium can react with sulphates and carbonates in water to generate insoluble barium sulphate and barium carbonate salts in fluids with high sulphate or carbonate content.Hydrolysis is unlikely to be a significant environmental destiny mechanism because barium compounds can not hydrolyze unless in extremely alkaline settings (pH 10).

Barium thiosulfate:

Poisonous barium thiosulfate! It is made by reacting barium chloride and sodium thiosulfate in hot water, filtering, cooling, and crystallization, precipitation of a water salt, centrifugal separation, and low temperature drying. Used to make luminous coatings and various thiosulphates, as well as explosives, matches, and luminous paint.

Barium thiosulfate Chemical formula:BaO3S2

Formula weight: 249.46g/mol

Appearance:White crystalline powder 

Density 3.45 g/cm3

Application of barium:

• Metals and alloys:

Barium is used to remove undesired gases (gettering) from vacuum tubes, such as TV image tubes, as a metal or when alloyed with aluminium. Because of its low vapour pressure and sensitivity toward oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water, barium is ideal for this application; it can even partially remove noble gases by dissolving them in the crystal lattice. Due to the growing popularity of tubeless LCD and plasma televisions, this application is increasingly becoming obsolete.

Other minor uses of elemental barium include as a structural refiner in silumin (aluminium–silicon alloys) and as an additive to silumin (aluminium–silicon alloys):

• lead–tin soldering alloys 
• to improve creep resistance; 
• bearing alloys;
• Additive to steel and cast iron as an inoculant; 
• alloy with nickel for spark plugs

• In fluorescent lights, barium oxide is utilised to aid electron release. It, like barium carbonate, is utilised in the manufacturing of some forms of glass.
• Certain barium compounds are also used in fireworks to produce green colours.
• In railway construction and repair, as a bleaching agent, and in particular types of tracer ammunition, barium peroxide is utilised.
• In the textile business, barium acetate is used to set colours, as well as to dry paint and varnish.
• X-rays and gamma rays can be detected using barium fluoride. It’s also employed in the creation of optical components.
• Capacitors, microphones, and transducers all use barium titanate.

Conclusion:

Barium is a chemical element that has an atomic number of 56 and the chemical symbol Ba. It’s a delicate silvery metal that oxidises quickly when exposed to air. This means that free metal is almost always recovered commercially from barite and almost never found naturally. The metal’s availability is limited due to its quick oxidation, although numerous barium derivatives have vital use.