About Oxygen and its structure

Aug 26, 2022, 16:45 IST

About Oxygen

Chinese observed the presence of oxygen in air.  Priestley and Scheeley prepared oxygen by heating suitable oxygen compounds.

Structure of Oxygen 

Oxygen is covelent compound having two bonds between two oxygen atom and it’s a linear structure having O=O.

Preparation of Oxygen

1. By the action of heat on oxygen rich compounds.
   • From oxides and peroxides:
   • From certain compounds (salts):
2. By the action of some chemical reagents on oxygen rich compound:
3. .By decomposition of steam by chlorine:
4. By electrolysis of water either acidified with H2SO4 using Pt – electrodes or by making it alkaline with NaOH or Ba(OH)2 using nickel electrodes.
5. Manufacture:  By fractional distillation of liquid air.

Properties of Oxygen

• It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless slightly heavier than air, sparingly soluble in water, soluble in pyrogallol.
• Reaction with metals and non metals:
• Other reactions:  (In presence of catalyst)

Test of Oxygen

• With NO it gives radish brown fumes of NO2
• Absorbed by alkaline pyrogallol.

Uses of Oxygen

• For breathing.
• In welding and cutting : oxyhydrogen acetylene torch is used.
• In iron and steel industry: to increase the content of blast in the Bessemer and open hearth process.

Anomalous behaviour of oxygen:

The oxygen differs from the rest of the elements due to its

• small size
• higher electronegativity
• absence of d-atomic orbitals in valence shell.
• tendency to form multiple bonding.

Points of difference:

• It is a diatomic gas and it readily form multiple bonds, while other elements are solid and have puckered eight membered rings.
• It is paramagnetic while others are diamagnetic.
• Oxygen show oxidation states of -2, - 1 and + 2 while other members show oxidation states of - 2, + 2, + 4 and + 6.
• H2O, the hydride of oxygen form H-bond while other do not.
• The compounds of oxygen are more ionic than those of other members of this family.  O2⁺ ion is also very common, S2⁺ ion is quite common but Se2 and Te2 ions are uncommon.

Find below the detail reactions of oxygen