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Oxygen gas is increasingly obtained by these non-cryogenic technologies (see also the related vacuum swing adsorption). [103] Oxygen gas can also be produced through electrolysis of water into molecular oxygen and hydrogen. DC electricity must be used: if AC is used, the gases in each limb consist of hydrogen and oxygen in the explosive ratio 2:1.
Hydrogen is again placed by itself on account of its uniqueness. The remaining nonmetals are divided into metalloids, nonmetals, (referred to as "quintessential nonmetals"), halogens, and noble gases. Since the metalloids abut the post-transition or "poor" metals, they might be renamed as "poor non-metals". [11]
Oxygen, sulfur, and selenium are nonmetals, and tellurium is a metalloid, meaning that its chemical properties are between those of a metal and those of a nonmetal. [7] It is not certain whether polonium is a metal or a metalloid. Some sources refer to polonium as a metalloid, [2] [27] although it has some metallic properties.
The chemical elements can be broadly divided into metals, metalloids, and nonmetals according to their shared physical and chemical properties.All elemental metals have a shiny appearance (at least when freshly polished); are good conductors of heat and electricity; form alloys with other metallic elements; and have at least one basic oxide.
All four elements tend to form primarily ionic compounds with metals, [136] in contrast to the remaining nonmetals (except for oxygen) which tend to form primarily covalent compounds with metals. [ x ] The highly reactive and strongly electronegative nature of the halogen nonmetals epitomizes nonmetallic character.
The alkali metals and alkali earth metals all react spontaneously with oxygen when exposed to dry air to form oxides, and form hydroxides in the presence of oxygen and water. As a result, none of these elements is found in nature as a free metal. Caesium is so reactive with oxygen that it is used as a getter in vacuum tubes. Although solid ...
The metals in ionic bonding usually lose their valence electrons, becoming a positively charged cation. The nonmetal will gain the electrons from the metal, making the nonmetal a negatively charged anion. As outlined, ionic bonds occur between an electron donor, usually a metal, and an electron acceptor, which tends to be a nonmetal. [28]
Liquid oxygen has a clear cyan color and is strongly paramagnetic: it can be suspended between the poles of a powerful horseshoe magnet. [2] Liquid oxygen has a density of 1.141 kg/L (1.141 g/ml), slightly denser than liquid water, and is cryogenic with a freezing point of 54.36 K (−218.79 °C; −361.82 °F) and a boiling point of 90.19 K (−182.96 °C; −297.33 °F) at 1 bar (14.5 psi).