Properties of Dioxygen

Dioxygen, with the chemical formula O2, is one of the most prevalent allotropes of elemental oxygen. While it is frequently referred to as oxygen, it is also referred to as dioxygen, molecular oxygen, or oxygen gas to distinguish it from elemental oxygen.

Oxygen is a member of the chalcogen group of the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal that rapidly forms oxides with the majority of elements and other compounds. Oxygen is the most plentiful element on Earth and, after hydrogen and helium, the third most abundant element in the universe. Diatomic oxygen makes up 20.95 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere nowadays. Oxygen is found in about half of the Earth’s crust in the form of oxides.

Oxygen is a chemical element with the symbol O and the atomic number 8.

In diatomic oxygen, the two oxygen atoms are chemically bound together via a spin triplet electron configuration. This bond has a bond order of two and is frequently referred to as a double bond or a combination of a two-electron bond and two three-electron bonds in descriptions. The ground state of the oxygen molecule is triplet oxygen (not to be confused with ozone, O3). Two unpaired electrons occupy two degenerate molecular orbitals in the molecule’s electron configuration. Antibonding orbitals reduce the binding order from three to two, making the diatomic oxygen link weaker than the diatomic nitrogen triple bond, which fills all bonding molecular orbitals but some antibonding orbitals.

Typically, high-purity liquid O2 is created by fractional distillation liquefied air. Additionally, liquid oxygen can be generated by condensing air using liquid nitrogen as a coolant. Because it is a highly reactive material, it must be kept separate from combustible materials.

Dioxygen’s Physical Properties

• It is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas.

• It is denser than air, weighing 1.429 g/L.

• It is mildly soluble in water, barely enough for aquatic life to survive.

• Oxygen has a melting point of around 54.36 degrees Kelvin and a boiling point of roughly 90.188 degrees Kelvin.

• Oxygen can exist in any of the three states: solid, liquid, or gas, depending on the temperature and pressure.

Dioxygen’s Chemical Properties

Two atoms of the element combine to generate dioxygen, a colourless, odourless, and tasteless diatomic gas with the formula O2. Oxygen is a nonmetallic element that is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table. As such, it readily forms compounds (particularly oxides) with virtually every other element. Oxygen is a strong oxidising agent and has the second greatest electronegativity of all reactive elements, only fluorine has a higher electronegativity. After hydrogen and helium, oxygen is the third most prevalent element in the universe by mass, and the most abundant element by mass in the Earth’s crust, accounting for over half of the crust’s mass. Without the photosynthetic action of living creatures, which utilise the energy of sunlight to make elemental oxygen from water, free oxygen is too chemically reactive to exist on Earth. Elemental O2 began to build in the atmosphere approximately 2.5 billion years ago, following the evolutionary development of photosynthetic species. At the moment, diatomic oxygen gas accounts for 20.8 percent of the volume of air.

• It interacts directly with nearly all metals and nonmetals to generate their oxides.

4Na + O2→ 2Na2O (With Metal)

C + O2→ CO2 (With Non-metal)

• It is paramagnetic.

• Normally, oxygen is inert when it comes into contact with acids and bases.

• Due to the fact that oxygen is an excellent oxidant, it aids in combustion.

Fuel + O2⟶ CO2+ H2O

• Rust is formed on iron when oxygen and moisture combine.

Fe + O2+ H2O ⟶ Fe2O3.nH2O (Hydrated Iron Oxide)

Dioxygen’s Applications

• For respiration to occur, dioxygen is required.

• It is found in hospital oxygen cylinders and mountaineering equipment.

• It is used to weld and cut metals in the form of oxy-acetylene.

• When oxygen and acetylene combine, an oxy-acetylene flame is generated. This flame is utilised for cutting and welding metals.

• It is used as a component of liquid rocket fuel.

• It is a precursor of nitric acid.

• It is used in conjunction with carbon dioxide or methane in artificial respiration.

• Laser cutting utilises oxygen.

• Oxygen is employed in combustion reactions. Because substances that do not burn readily in air do so readily in oxygen, mixing oxygen and air increases combustion.

• In water treatment operations such as wastewater purification and sewage treatment, oxygen is utilised.

CONCLUSION

Although oxygen is the oxidant, not the fuel, it is responsible for the majority of the chemical energy generated during burning.

Concentrated O2 enables quick and vigorous burning. Steel pipes and storage vessels used to store and convey both gaseous and liquid oxygen operate as a fuel; thus, the design and production of O2 systems require special training to limit ignition sources.