Chalcogen

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Chalcogen

The chalcogens are the elements

Chemical element

A chemical element is a type of atom that is distinguished by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its atomic nucleus. The term is also used to refer to a pure chemical Chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of protons....
in group

Periodic table group

In chemistry, a group is a vertical column in the periodic table of the chemical elements. The name family is derived from the fact that the elements share similar characteristics and traits, just as members of any human family would....
16 (old-style: VIB or VIA) of the periodic table

Periodic table

The periodic table of the chemical elements is a table method of displaying the chemical elements. Although precursors to this table exist, its invention is generally credited to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869....
. It is sometimes known as the oxygen family. It consists of the elements

Chemical element

Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
(O), sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
(S), selenium

Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with the atomic number 34, represented by the chemical symbol Se, an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, chemically related to sulfur and tellurium, and rarely occurs in its elemental state in nature....
(Se), tellurium

Tellurium

Tellurium is a chemical element that has the symbol Te and atomic number 52. A brittle silver-white metalloid which looks like tin, tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur....
(Te), the radioactive element polonium

Polonium

Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive metalloid, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores....
(Po), and the synthetic element ununhexium

Ununhexium

Ununhexium is the temporary name of a synthetic element superheavy element in the periodic table that has the temporary symbol Uuh and has the atomic number 116....
(Uuh).

Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in its electron configuration

Electron configuration

In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, electron configuration is the arrangement of electrons in an atom, molecule, or other physical structure....
, especially the outermost shells resulting in trends in chemical behavior:

The compounds of the heavier chalcogens (particularly the sulfide

Sulfide

The term sulfide refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of −2.Formally, "sulfide" is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2...
s, selenide

Selenide

The selenide ion is Se2-.A selenide is a chemical compound in which selenium serves as an anion with oxidation number of −2, much as sulfur does in a sulfide....
s, and telluride

Telluride (chemistry)

The telluride ion is tellurium2−. It is the final stable member of the series of dianions oxide2−, sulfide2−, and selenide2− ....
s) are collectively known as chalcogenides.

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Encyclopedia

The chalcogens are the elements

Chemical element

Periodic table group

Periodic table

Chemical element

Oxygen

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
(S), selenium

Selenium

Tellurium

Polonium

Ununhexium

Electron configuration

Z Atomic number In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the atomic nucleus of an atom. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z....	Element Element The name element may refer to:In chemistry, electronics or the geosciences:* Chemical element, an atomic structure* Electrical element...	No. of electrons/shell Electron shell File:Periodic Table of Elements showing Electron Shells.svgAn electron shell may be crudely thought of as an orbit followed by electrons around an atom Atomic nucleus....
8	oxygen	2, 6
16	sulfur	2, 8, 6
34	selenium	2, 8, 18, 6
52	tellurium	2, 8, 18, 18, 6
84	polonium	2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6
116	ununhexium	2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 6

The compounds of the heavier chalcogens (particularly the sulfide

Sulfide

Selenide

The selenide ion is Se2-.A selenide is a chemical compound in which selenium serves as an anion with oxidation number of −2, much as sulfur does in a sulfide....
s, and telluride

Telluride (chemistry)

The telluride ion is tellurium2−. It is the final stable member of the series of dianions oxide2−, sulfide2−, and selenide2− ....
s) are collectively known as chalcogenides. Unless grouped with a heavier chalcogen, oxide

Oxide

An oxide is a chemical compound contaning at least one oxygen atom as well as at least one other element. Most of the Earth's crust consists of oxides....
s are not considered chalcogenides. The name is generally considered to mean "ore former" from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
chalcos "ore" and -gen "formation".

Oxygen and sulfur are nonmetal

Nonmetal

Nonmetal is a term used in chemistry when classifying the chemical elements. On the basis of their general physical and chemical properties, every element in the periodic table can be termed either a metal or a nonmetal....
s, and polonium, selenium and tellurium are metalloid

Metalloid

is a term used in chemistry when classifying the chemical elements. On the basis of their general physical and chemical properties, nearly every element in the periodic table can be termed either a metal or a nonmetal....
semiconductor

Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
s (i.e., their electrical properties are between those of a metal and an insulator

Electrical insulation

An insulator, also called a dielectric, is a material that resists the flow of electric current. An insulating material has atoms with tightly bonded valence electrons....
). Nevertheless, tellurium, as well as selenium, is often referred to as a metal when in elemental form.

Chalcogens are quite common as minerals. For example, pyrite

Pyrite

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula ironsulfur2. This mineral's metallic Lustre and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold due to its resemblance to gold....
(FeS₂) is an iron ore

Iron ore

Iron ores are Rock and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red....
, and the gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold.Eight gold rushes took place throughout the 19th century in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States....
town Telluride, Colorado

Telluride, Colorado

The Town of Telluride is a Colorado municipalities#Home_Rule_Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous town of San Miguel County, Colorado in the southwestern portion of the U.S....
derives its name from the telluride calaverite

Calaverite

Calaverite, or gold telluride, is an uncommon telluride of gold; it is a metallic mineral. It was first discovered in Calaveras County, California in 1861....
(AuTe₂).

The formal oxidation number

Oxidation number

The oxidation number of a central atom in a complex is the charge that it would have if all the ligands were removed along with the electron pairs that were shared with the central atom....
of the chalcogens is generally -2 in a chalcogenide but other values, such as -1 in pyrite

Pyrite

Oxidation number

Sulfate

In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid....
s, selenate

Selenate

The selenate ion is SeO42−.Selenates are analogous to sulfates and have similar chemistry. They are highly soluble in aqueous solutions at ambient temperatures....
s and tellurate

Tellurate

The tellurate ion is TeO42− or TeO66−.Unlike sulfate, tellurate is a somewhat good oxidizer; it can be reduced to Tellurite or tellurium....
s, such as in sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid, hydrogen2sulfuroxygen4, is a strong mineral acid. It is soluble in water at all concentrations. Sulfuric acid has many applications, and is one of the top products of the chemical industry....
or sodium selenate (Na₂SeO₄). Modern chemical understanding based on quantum theory

Quantum chemistry

Quantum chemistry is a branch of theoretical chemistry, which applies quantum mechanics and quantum field theory to address issues and problems in chemistry....
supersedes the use of formal oxidation numbers in favour of a many-electron wavefunction

Hartree-Fock

In computational physics and computational chemistry, the Hartree-Fock method is an approximate method for the determination of the Stationary state wavefunction and Stationary state energy of a Many-body problem....
approach allowing detailed computer simulation. The former concept, while flawed, is still useful in thought experiments and teaching redox reactions.

**Explanation of above periodic table slice:**
Nonmetal Nonmetal Nonmetal is a term used in chemistry when classifying the chemical elements. On the basis of their general physical and chemical properties, every element in the periodic table can be termed either a metal or a nonmetal.... s	Metalloid Metalloid is a term used in chemistry when classifying the chemical elements. On the basis of their general physical and chemical properties, nearly every element in the periodic table can be termed either a metal or a nonmetal.... s	Poor metal Post-transition metal \|-\|Atomic numbers show State of matter at Standard temperature and pressure\|-\|Borders show natural occurrence\|}In chemistry, the term post-transition metal is used to describe the Collective names of groups of like elements of metallic Chemical element to the right of the transition elements on the periodic table.... s	Atomic numbers in are gases	Atomic numbers in are solids	Solid borders indicate primordial elements (older than the Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather... )	Dashed borders indicate radioactive Radioactive decay Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide.... natural elements	Dotted borders indicate radioactive synthetic element Synthetic element In chemistry, the chemical elements labeled as synthetic are too unstable to be found naturally on Earth. These synthetic elements possess half-lifes so short, relative to the age of the Earth, that any atoms of these elements that may have existed when the Earth formed have long since decayed away.... s

Chalcogen

See also

External links