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hydrogen
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Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley. Author of The Synthesis and Characterization of Inorganic Compounds and others.
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hydrogen (H), a colourless, odourless, tasteless, flammable gaseous substance that is the simplest member of the family of chemical elements. The hydrogen atom has a nucleus consisting of a proton bearing one unit of positive electrical charge; an electron, bearing one unit of negative electrical charge, is also associated with this nucleus. Under ordinary conditions, hydrogen gas is a loose aggregation of hydrogen molecules, each consisting of a pair of atoms, a diatomic molecule, H2. The earliest known important chemical property of hydrogen is that it burns with oxygen to form water, H2O; indeed, the name hydrogen is derived from Greek words meaning “maker of water.”
Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe (three times as abundant as helium, the next most widely occurring element), it makes up only about 0.14 percent of Earth’s crust by weight. It occurs, however, in vast quantities as part of the water in oceans, ice packs, rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere. As part of innumerable carbon compounds, hydrogen is present in all animal and vegetable tissue and in petroleum. Even though it is often said that there are more known compounds of carbon than of any other element, the fact is that, since hydrogen is contained in almost all carbon compounds and also forms a multitude of compounds with all other elements (except some of the noble gases), it is possible that hydrogen compounds are more numerous.
Elementary hydrogen finds its principal industrial application in the manufacture of ammonia (a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH3) and in the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide and organic compounds.
Hydrogen has three known isotopes. The mass numbers of hydrogen’s isotopes are 1, 2, and 3, the most abundant being the mass 1 isotope generally called hydrogen (symbol H, or 1 H) but also known as protium. The mass 2 isotope, which has a nucleus of one proton and one neutron and has been named deuterium, or heavy hydrogen (symbol D, or 2 H), constitutes 0.0156 percent of the ordinary mixture of hydrogen. Tritium (symbol T, or 3 H), with one proton and two neutrons in each nucleus, is the mass 3 isotope and constitutes about 10 −15 to 10 −16 percent of hydrogen. The practice of giving distinct names to the hydrogen isotopes is justified by the fact that there are significant differences in their properties.
Paracelsus, physician and alchemist, in the 16th century unknowingly experimented with hydrogen when he found that a flammable gas was evolved when a metal was dissolved in acid. The gas, however, was confused with other flammable gases, such as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. In 1766 Henry Cavendish, English chemist and physicist, showed that hydrogen, then called flammable air, phlogiston, or the flammable principle, was distinct from other combustible gases because of its density and the amount of it that evolved from a given amount of acid and metal. In 1781 Cavendish confirmed previous observations that water was formed when hydrogen was burned, and Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, coined the French word hydrogène from which the English form is derived. In 1929 Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer, a German physical chemist, and Paul Harteck, an Austrian chemist, on the basis of earlier theoretical work, showed that ordinary hydrogen is a mixture of two kinds of molecules, ortho-hydrogen and para-hydrogen. Because of the simple structure of hydrogen, its properties can be theoretically calculated relatively easily. Hence hydrogen is often used as a theoretical model for more complex atoms, and the results are applied qualitatively to other atoms.
Physical and chemical properties
The Table lists the important properties of molecular hydrogen, H2. The extremely low melting and boiling points result from weak forces of attraction between the molecules. The existence of these weak intermolecular forces is also revealed by the fact that, when hydrogen gas expands from high to low pressure at room temperature, its temperature rises, whereas the temperature of most other gases falls. According to thermodynamic principles, this implies that repulsive forces exceed attractive forces between hydrogen molecules at room temperature—otherwise, the expansion would cool the hydrogen. In fact, at −68.6° C attractive forces predominate, and hydrogen, therefore, cools upon being allowed to expand below that temperature. The cooling effect becomes so pronounced at temperatures below that of liquid nitrogen (−196° C) that the effect is utilized to achieve the liquefaction temperature of hydrogen gas itself.
| normal hydrogen | deuterium | |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic hydrogen | ||
| atomic number | 1 | 1 |
| atomic weight | 1.0080 | 2.0141 |
| ionization potential | 13.595 electron volts | 13.600 electron volts |
| electron affinity | 0.7542 electron volts | 0.754 electron volts |
| nuclear spin | 1/2 | 1 |
| nuclear magnetic moment (nuclear magnetons) | 2.7927 | 0.8574 |
| nuclear quadrupole moment | 0 | 2.77(10 −27 ) square centimetres |
| electronegativity (Pauling) | 2.1 | ~2.1 |
| Molecular hydrogen | ||
| bond distance | 0.7416 angstrom | 0.7416 angstrom |
| dissociation energy (25 degrees C) | 104.19 kilocalories per mole | 105.97 kilocalories per mole |
| ionization potential | 15.427 electron volts | 15.457 electron volts |
| density of solid | 0.08671 gram per cubic centimetre | 0.1967 gram per cubic centimetre |
| melting point | −259.20 degrees Celsius | −254.43 degrees Celsius |
| heat of fusion | 28 calories per mole | 47 calories per mole |
| density of liquid | 0.07099 (−252.78 degrees) | 0.1630 (−249.75 degrees) |
| boiling point | −252.77 degrees Celsius | −249.49 degrees Celsius |
| heat of vaporization | 216 calories per mole | 293 calories per mole |
| critical temperature | −240.0 degrees Celsius | −243.8 degrees Celsius |
| critical pressure | 13.0 atmospheres | 16.4 atmospheres |
| critical density | 0.0310 gram per cubic centimetre | 0.0668 gram per cubic centimetre |
| heat of combustion to water (g) | −57.796 kilocalories per mole | −59.564 kilocalories per mole |
Hydrogen is transparent to visible light, to infrared light, and to ultraviolet light to wavelengths below 1800 Å. Because its molecular weight is lower than that of any other gas, its molecules have a velocity higher than those of any other gas at a given temperature and it diffuses faster than any other gas. Consequently, kinetic energy is distributed faster through hydrogen than through any other gas; it has, for example, the greatest heat conductivity.
A molecule of hydrogen is the simplest possible molecule. It consists of two protons and two electrons held together by electrostatic forces. Like atomic hydrogen, the assemblage can exist in a number of energy levels.
Ortho-hydrogen and para-hydrogen
Two types of molecular hydrogen (ortho and para) are known. These differ in the magnetic interactions of the protons due to the spinning motions of the protons. In ortho-hydrogen, the spins of both protons are aligned in the same direction—that is, they are parallel. In para-hydrogen, the spins are aligned in opposite directions and are therefore antiparallel. The relationship of spin alignments determines the magnetic properties of the atoms. Normally, transformations of one type into the other (i.e., conversions between ortho and para molecules) do not occur and ortho-hydrogen and para-hydrogen can be regarded as two distinct modifications of hydrogen. The two forms may, however, interconvert under certain conditions. Equilibrium between the two forms can be established in several ways. One of these is by the introduction of catalysts (such as activated charcoal or various paramagnetic substances); another method is to apply an electrical discharge to the gas or to heat it to a high temperature.
The concentration of para-hydrogen in a mixture that has achieved equilibrium between the two forms depends on the temperature as shown by the following figures:
Essentially pure para-hydrogen can be produced by bringing the mixture into contact with charcoal at the temperature of liquid hydrogen; this converts all the ortho-hydrogen into para-hydrogen. The ortho-hydrogen, on the other hand, cannot be prepared directly from the mixture because the concentration of para-hydrogen is never less than 25 percent.
The two forms of hydrogen have slightly different physical properties. The melting point of para-hydrogen is 0.10° lower than that of a 3:1 mixture of ortho-hydrogen and para-hydrogen. At −252.77° C the pressure exerted by the vapour over liquid para-hydrogen is 1.035 atmospheres (one atmosphere is the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level under standard conditions, equal to about 14.69 pounds per square inch), compared with 1.000 atmosphere for the vapour pressure of the 3:1 ortho–para mixture. As a result of the different vapour pressures of para-hydrogen and ortho-hydrogen, these forms of hydrogen can be separated by low-temperature gas chromatography, an analytical process that separates different atomic and molecular species on the basis of their differing volatilities.
Hydrogen: What’s the difference between H, H2, H+, H- and OH- ?
Distinguishing between these different forms of Hydrogen can be confusing to those of us who flunked high school chemistry. Here is an attempt at clarification.
H = Atomic Hydrogen
Atomic hydrogen is number 1 on the Periodic Table of Elements. It consists of one proton and one unpaired electron which means that it is a free radical.
However an atom of hydrogen rarely exists on its own because its unpaired electron eagerly seeks to join up with another electron.
The molecular form of hydrogen is more common.
H2= Molecular Hydrogen
H2 is a gas which forms when two hydrogen atoms bond together and become a hydrogen molecule. H2 is also called molecular hydrogen.It consists of two protons and two electrons. Consequently it is the most common form of Hydrogen because it is stable with a neutral charge. H2 is not a free radical. It is the antioxidant in ‘hydrogen-rich’ water.
H2 is the smallest molecule in the universe. That means it can go where nothing else can …including into your mitochondria which are the powerhouses of your cells. Hydrogen gas cannot be kept in plastic because it will pass right through the walls of the container.
When the Hydrogen atom loses an electron all that is left is a proton. It becomes the positively charged hydrogen ion known as H + . This is the form of Hydrogen that produces the ATP enzyme that powers our cells and mitochondria.
The H + hydrogen ion is the basis of the pH scale.
H: – = Hydride
Hydride is a hydrogen atom which has an extra electron. This means that it is a negatively charged ion, or anion. That is why Hydride ion (H-) has the minus sign distinguishing it from a regular Hydrogen atom (H). The two dots after the H means that this ion has two electrons instead of just one. The extra electron means that H- is not a free radical however it is not stable because this form of hydrogen is a very strong base (extremely alkaline) which reacts with water to produce hydroxide (OH – and molecular hydrogen (H2).
H: – + H2O –> H2O + OH –
Hydride (H: – ) also reacts with metals to form chemical compounds which are reducing agents.
OH – = Hydroxide ion
Hydroxide (OH–) is also known as the hydroxyl ion. When water dissociates or comes apart into its component parts it forms OH – (hydroxide ions) and H3O + (hydronium ions).
2H2O ⇆ OH – and H3O +
This reaction is reversible. The hydroxide ion also reacts with the hydronium ion (H3O+) to become two water molecules.
The Hydroxide ion (OH – ) is a base (alkaline). The Hydroxide ion is not a free radical or an antioxidant. Dissolved molecular hydrogen gas (H2) is the antioxidant in ‘hydrogen-rich’ water.
OH • = Hydroxyl radical
Hydroxide (OH – ) is sometimes confused with the hydroxyl radical (OH • ). The dot to the upper right of the OH indicates an unpaired electron which means that Hydroxyl is a free radical, actually one of the most reactive oxygen radicals.
Hydroxide and Hydroxl are two entirely different species. It is important to not confuse them.
H3O + = Hydronium ion
A water molecule (H20) plus a hydrogen ion (H + ) becomes a hydronium ion (H3O + ). The H + ion is a lone proton with a powerful charge. It does not exist on its own in an aqueous solution because it is immediately attracted to the unshared electrons in the oxygen atom of H2O. The result is Hydronium (H3O + ). This process is reversible. Two water molecules can disassociate to form hydronium plus hydroxide.
2H2O ⇆ OH – and H3O +
Experiments indicate that the proton (H + ) is very promiscuous. It changes from one H2O partner to another many times per second creating a new H3O + ion as it moves.
pH = Potential of Hydrogen
pH stands for potential of Hydrogen and is actually a measurement of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. Water breaks down (dissociates) into protons (H + ) and hydroxides (OH – ). This reaction is reversible.
H2O ⇆ H + and OH –
2H2O ⇆ OH – and H3O +
pH indicates whether water is acidic, neutral, or alkaline. More H + = more acidic. Less H + = more alkaline.
Because H+ immediately associates with H2O to form H3O + (Hydronium), pH can also be said to be a measurement of the concentration of H3O + in a solution.
The pH scale is logarithmic. Increasing by 1 on the pH scale results in a 10 times decrease in the hydronium ion concentration and increasing by 3 on the pH scale results in a 1,000 times decrease in the hydronium ion concentration.