Carbon monoxide, also known as carbon monoxide, has a very strong molecular composition, is inert in its chemical properties and is poorly soluble in water. This compound is also incredibly toxic, when it enters the respiratory system, it combines with the hemoglobin of the blood, and it ceases to transfer oxygen to tissues and organs.
Chemical names and formula
Carbon monoxide is also known by other names, including carbon monoxide II. In everyday life, it is customary to call it carbon monoxide. This carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas. Its chemical formula is CO, and the mass of one molecule is 28.01 g / mol.
Effects on the body
Carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin, which does not have oxygen throughput. Inhalation of its vapor causes damage to the central nervous system (CNS) and suffocation. The resulting lack of oxygen causes headache, dizziness, decreased heart rate and respiratory rate, leads to fainting and subsequent death of the body.
Toxic gas
Carbon monoxide is obtained by partial combustion of substances containing carbon, for example, in internal combustion engines. The compound contains 1 carbon atom covalently bonded to 1 oxygen atom. Carbon monoxide is very toxic, and this is one of the most common causes of fatal poisoning worldwide. Exposure can lead to damage to the heart and other organs.
What are the benefits of carbon monoxide?
Despite its serious toxicity, carbon monoxide is extremely useful - thanks to modern technologies, a number of vital products are created from it. Carbon monoxide, although today it is considered a pollutant, has always been present in nature, but not in such quantities as, for example, carbon dioxide.
Those who believe that there is no carbon monoxide compound in nature are mistaken. CO dissolves in molten volcanic rock at high pressures in the earth's mantle. The carbon monoxide content in volcanic gases varies from less than 0.01% to 2%, depending on the volcano. Since the natural compounds of this compound are not constant, it is not possible to accurately measure natural gas emissions.
Chemical properties
Carbon monoxide (formula CO) refers to non-salt-forming or indifferent oxides. However, at a temperature of +200 o C, it reacts with sodium hydroxide. During this chemical process, sodium formate is formed:
NaOH + CO = HCOONa (salt of formic acid).
The properties of carbon monoxide are based on its reducing ability. Carbon monoxide:
- can react with oxygen: 2CO + O 2 = 2CO 2;
- able to interact with halogens: CO + Cl 2 = COCl 2 (phosgene);
- has a unique property to restore pure metals from their oxides: Fe 2 O 3 + 3CO = 2Fe + 3CO 2;
- forms metal carbonyls: Fe + 5CO = Fe (CO) 5;
- It is highly soluble in chloroform, acetic acid, ethanol, ammonium hydroxide and benzene.
Molecule structure
Two atoms, of which, in fact, consists of a molecule of carbon monoxide (CO), are connected by a triple bond. Two of them are formed by the fusion of p-electrons of carbon atoms with oxygen, and the third - thanks to a special mechanism due to the free 2p orbital of carbon and the 2p electron pair of oxygen. This structure provides the molecule with high strength.
A bit of history
Aristotle from ancient Greece also described toxic fumes produced by burning coals. The mechanism of death itself was not known. However, one of the ancient methods of execution was locking the transgressor in the steam room, where smoldering coals were located. The Greek physician Galen suggested that certain changes occur in the composition of the air that are harmful by inhalation.
During World War II, a gas mixture with impurities of carbon monoxide was used as a fuel for vehicles in those parts of the world where there was a limited amount of gasoline and diesel fuel. External (with some exceptions) charcoal or charcoal gas generators were installed, and a mixture of atmospheric nitrogen, carbon monoxide and a small amount of other gases was supplied to the gas mixer. It was the so-called wood gas.
Carbon Monoxide Oxidation
Carbon monoxide is formed during the partial oxidation of carbon-containing compounds. CO is produced when oxygen is insufficient to produce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), for example, when a furnace or internal combustion engine is operating in an enclosed space. If oxygen is present, as well as some other atmospheric concentrations, carbon monoxide burns, emitting blue light, forming carbon dioxide, known as carbon dioxide.
Coal gas, which was widely used until the 1960s for indoor lighting, cooking, and heating, had CO as its primary component of fuel. Some processes in modern technologies, such as iron smelting, still produce carbon monoxide as a by-product. The CO compound itself is oxidized to CO 2 at room temperature.
Is there any CO in nature?
Does carbon monoxide exist in nature? One of its natural sources of origin is the photochemical reactions occurring in the troposphere. These processes are supposed to be able to generate about 5 × 10 12 kg of substance e; annually. Among other sources, as mentioned above, are volcanoes, forest fires and other types of burning.
Molecular properties
Carbon monoxide has a molar mass of 28.0, which makes it slightly less dense than air. The bond length between two atoms is 112.8 micrometers. It is close enough to provide one of the strongest chemical bonds. Both elements in the CO compound together have about 10 electrons in one valence shell.
As a rule, a double bond occurs in organic carbonyl compounds. A characteristic feature of the CO molecule is that between the atoms there is a strong triple bond with 6 common electrons in 3 connected molecular orbitals. Since 4 of the common electrons come from the oxygen atom and only 2 from the carbon, one bound orbital is occupied by two electrons from O 2 , forming a dative or dipole bond. This causes a polarization of the C ← O molecule with a small “-” charge on carbon and a small “+” charge on oxygen.
The remaining two connected orbitals occupy one charged particle from carbon and one from oxygen. The molecule is asymmetric: oxygen has a higher electron density than carbon, and is also slightly positively charged compared to negative carbon.
Getting
In industry, the production of carbon monoxide WITH is carried out by heating carbon dioxide or water vapor with coal without access to air:
CO 2 + C = 2CO;
H 2 O + C = CO + H 2.
The last resulting mixture is also called water or synthesis gas. In laboratory conditions, carbon monoxide II by exposure to organic acids of concentrated sulfuric acid, which acts as a water-taking agent:
HCOOH = CO + H 2 O;
H 2 C 2 O 4 = CO 2 + H 2 O.
The main symptoms and help with CO poisoning
Does carbon monoxide cause poisoning? Yes, and very strong. Carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common occurrence worldwide. The most common symptoms are:
- feeling of weakness;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- irritability;
- poor appetite;
- headache;
- disorientation;
- visual impairment;
- vomiting
- fainting;
- cramps.
Exposure to this toxic gas can cause significant damage, which can often lead to long-term chronic pathological conditions. Carbon monoxide can cause serious harm to the fetus of a pregnant woman. Victims, for example after a fire, should be given immediate assistance. urgently need to call an ambulance, give access to fresh air, take away clothes that constrain breathing, soothe, warm. Severe poisoning, as a rule, is treated only under the supervision of doctors in a hospital.
Application
Carbon monoxide, as already mentioned, is toxic and dangerous, but it is one of the basic compounds that are used in modern industry for organic synthesis. is used to obtain pure metals, carbonyls, phosgene, carbon sulfide, methyl alcohol, formamide, aromatic aldehydes, formic acid. This substance is also used as a fuel. Despite its toxicity and toxicity, it is often used as a raw material for various substances in the chemical industry.
Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide: what is the difference?
Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide (CO and CO 2 ) are often mistaken for each other. Both gases are odorless and colorless, and both negatively affect the cardiovascular system. Both gases can enter the body through inhalation, skin and eyes. When exposed to a living organism, these compounds have a number of common symptoms - headaches, dizziness, convulsions and hallucinations. Most people have a hard time making the difference and don’t realize that automobile exhaust fumes emit both CO and CO 2 . Indoors, an increase in the concentration of these gases can be hazardous to the health and safety of the person exposed to them. What is the difference?
At high concentrations, both can be fatal. The difference is that CO 2 is a common natural gas necessary for all plant and animal life. CO is not common. This is a byproduct of oxygen-free fuel combustion. A critical chemical difference is that CO 2 contains one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms, while CO only has one. Carbon dioxide is non-combustible, while monoxide is more likely to ignite.
Carbon dioxide naturally occurs in the atmosphere: people and animals breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, that is, living things can withstand it in small quantities. This gas is also necessary for the implementation of photosynthesis by plants. However, carbon monoxide does not naturally occur in the atmosphere and can cause health problems even at low concentrations. The density of both gases is also different. Carbon dioxide is heavier and denser than air, while carbon monoxide is slightly lighter. This feature of them should be taken into account when installing appropriate sensors in homes.