Surface chemistry is one of the important processes and it also has practical uses in our daily life, for example, foam. Cosmetics, soap bubbles, adhesives paint, and pharmaceuticals.
It also has industrial uses for example,
- Chromatography is also a surface phenomenon that is used for the purification, testing, and separation of compounds.
- Catalysis is the process in which we use the catalyst to lower the activation energy required for the conversion of reactants into the product.
- Electrodes are substances that are used to connect the non-metallic part to plasma, semiconductors, and electrolytes. At the electrode surface oxidation and reduction processes occur simultaneously this type of arrangement is observed in the lithium-ion battery, fuel cells, etc.
The results of surface studies can be satisfactory only if we take a real clean surface. The ultra-clean surface of metals is obtained when a high vacuum.
To keep the surfaces of the solid materials clean so that they are not covered by gasses of the air (oxygen, nitrogen, etc.), these solid materials must be kept stored in a vacuum.
Nuclear Glue
As we know neutrons and protons are present in the nucleus out of which protons have unit positive charge while neutrons have no charge. As a result, the nucleus has a positive charge and all protons present in the nucleus repel (electrostatic repulsion, the same charge repels each other). So there must be a strong force present in the nucleus that holds the positively charged protons and neutral neutrons together within the nucleus, this force is known as the strong force.
Neutrons are neutral particles; there is no electrostatic force of repulsion between them and other particles. Therefore, neutrons act as nuclear glue that allows protons to stay in the nucleus without causing repulsion.
Nuclide
If we denote an atom with its number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus for example C-13 contains 7 neutrons and 6 protons.
Radioactive Nuclides and Radioactive decay
Out of the thousands of nuclides, only 250 are stable nuclides. When we plot a graph between the number of protons and neutrons we observe that stable isotopes fall in a narrow band, this is known as belt, valley, and zone of stability. Nuclide that contains the number of neutrons and protons outside this narrow band of stability will be unstable and undergo nuclear reactions until the nuclide comes into this band of stability.
These unstable atoms are called radioactive nuclides and the changes they undergo for stability are known as radioactive decay.
Radioactivity
There are many elements like uranium, thorium, etc. which spontaneously emit α,β particles, or γ- radiation. This phenomenon is called natural radioactivity.
On the other hand, certain elements are not radioactive as such but on bombardment with subatomic particles like neutrons, protons, etc. to produce radioactive isotopes. This phenomenon is called artificial radioactivity.
Conclusion:
In 1896 Henri Becquerel worked with the uranium compounds and he observed that the photographic plates were blackened in the absence of light. This phenomenon is called radioactivity, Later it was found that all uranium compounds are radioactive because of the uranium’s radioactivity.
After Becquerel, Marie Curie with his husband discovered the radioactive nature of two other elements named radium and polonium.
On the surface, we study the phenomenon occurring at the surface or interface i.e., at the boundary separating two bulk phases. Surface studies can be satisfactory only if we take a real clean surface. The ultra-clean surface of metals is obtained when a high vacuum.