Why are relativistic effects mainly noticeable in Au and Hg only?
I know that the colour of gold and the fact that mercury is a liquid at room temperature are both due to relativistic effects of inner electron orbits. Correct me if I'm wrong, but why are these...
View ArticleHow do the relativistic effects influence chemical bonding of hassium or...
While superheavy elements are notoriously unstable, there's plenty of theoretical research and even some experimental techniques are valid for nuclides decaying in a matter of seconds. They can verify...
View ArticleOn the relativistic contraction of orbitals
In Platinum $\text{Pt}$, why do $\text{s}$ and $\text{p}$ orbitals contract when electrons start travelling at relativistic speeds $|v|\sim c$, while $\text{d}$ orbital expands?The way I reasoned about...
View ArticleHow fast do electrons move around the nucleus?
Electrons, as we all know, are incredibly small. Smaller things do tend to move faster, right? So exactly how fast considering how small they are? Also, does the electonegativity difference between two...
View ArticleAmbiguity on determining a relativistic Dirac orbital's "shape" when it has...
Wikipedia says that a relativistic Dirac atomic orbital is a 4-component vector, with two angular parts and two spin parts. It also says, indirectly, that 'the top two components of a 2p(1/2) orbital...
View ArticleQuestion on theoretical existence (or lack thereof) of spherical symmetry of...
It is known that flerovium, with a [core]7s²7p² configuration, is predicted to be noble-gas-like; this is due to the "7p²" part of flerovium actually being (7p(1/2))², i.e. mathematically having an...
View ArticleFluorescence quenching by palladium(II) vs. platinum(II) complexes
Why do we observe much stronger (in most cases complete) fluorescence quenching by $\ce{Pd^2+}$ than $\ce{Pt^2+}?$ I work with complexes of both metals and there is no real 100% explanation I can find...
View ArticleWould there be 6p½ ->π* backbonding in oganesson tetracyanide?
It is known that oganesson, although a group 18 element, is more likely to behave like a group (1)4 element; i.e. with 4 valence electrons outside a flerovium core. This contributes to the fact that...
View ArticleWhy does tennessine have a larger (predicted) electron affinity than nihonium?
According to Wikipedia, tennessine has an electron affinity (EA) of $\pu{+166 kJ mol-1}$ and nihonium $\pu{+67 kJ mol-1}$.Normally this would make sense since tennessine is in group 17 and nihonium in...
View ArticleWhat common observations in chemistry were unexplainable by an early...
I was reading quite a well-known paper titled 'Relativistic Effects in Structural Chemistry' by PEKKA PYYKKO, and in it, he states that 'it was not until the 1970s that the full relevance of...
View ArticleRelativistic contraction of orbitals
I am confused about what seems to me two very different explanations for the relativistic contraction of orbitals for heavy elements.My teacher told me that since 1s electrons in heavy elements travel...
View ArticleWhy is gold golden?
Bulk gold has a very characteristic warm yellow shine to it, whereas almost all other metals have a grey or silvery color. Where does this come from?I have heard that this property arises from...
View ArticleWhich is the most reactive metal: Caesium or Francium? [duplicate]
I searched on Wikipedia for reactivity series but it showed me Caesium as the most reactive metal. I know and have studied that reactivity increases as we go down the first group. Then shouldn’t it be...
View ArticleWhy do the trends in reactivity not apply for francium?
Why is francium not included in the reactivity series? Why is potassium considered more reactive than francium?I know that reactivity increases down the group, but why does it not apply here?
View ArticleIs it possible to hold and rotate molecules to relativistic speeds around...
Also, is it possible to see frame-shortening effects on electrostatic forces/van der waals at the edges, or are molecules too weak or necessarily neutral to be manipulated this way?
View ArticleWhy is Astatine monoatomic?
I learnt that halogens always form covalent bonds to becoms diatomic molecules. So why is astatine monoatomic? I mean they have the same properties, why shouldn't they all be diatomic?
View ArticleWhy does mercury have low melting and boiling points?
Many metals have relatively high melting and boiling points, but mercury has relatively low melting and boiling points. What are the possible reasons for this?
View ArticleWhy does mercury form polycations?
For example, mercury (I) is $\ce{Hg2^2+}$ and not $\ce{Hg+}$. What causes the stability in covalently bonded $\ce{Hg}$ ions?
View ArticleWhy are noble metals more electronegative then most metals?
I was researching about electronegativity when I looked up what a graph of electronegativity within the periodic table is. And, this appeared. I scanned it, matching up everything I knew about the...
View ArticleRelativistic effect: d-electrons in metallorganic complexes
With higher period the d-electrons of the metal are less strong bonded and therefore oxidative addition is easier for $\ce{Ir(I)}$ than for $\ce{Rh(I)}$ and much easier than for $\ce{Co(I)}$.For metal...
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