Sunday, March 14, 2010

Melting point







The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the solid and the liquid are equal. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. When considered as the temperature of the reverse change from liquid to solid, it is referred to as the freezing point. Because of the ability of some substances to supercool, the freezing point is not considered to be a characteristic property of a substance. When the "characteristic freezing point" of a substance is determined, in fact the actual methodology is almost always "the principle of observing the disappearance rather than the formation of ice", i.e. the melting point.






The Determination of Melting Points:

Melting points will be determined by using one of the DigiMelt units (Figure 1-1 on the next page). The DigiMelt units must always be kept upright. Place a small quantity (1/16 inch in tube) of the solid to be melted in a capillary tube (labeled melting point tubes). Tap the closed end of the tube on the desk, clean the outside, and use the tamper of the right side of the DigiMelt to compact the solid down to the closed end of the melting point capillary tube. Drop the tube (closed end down) down a section of glass tubing (see TA) to compact the solid in the bottom or closed end of the tube even more. Place the tube loaded with the sample into the sample holder of the DigiMelt with the closed end down. The crystals can be ground up in a clean, dry mortar and pestle if they are too big to fit into the capillary tube.

If the melting point of the sample is unknown or unavailable, a fast run with the DigiMelt set at a ramp of 10 or 20C per minute to obtain an approximate melting range. A more precise value can then be obtained by heating the DigiMelt more slowly at a slower ramp (about 2C/min.) in the vicinity of the known melting temperature.

Record the temperature the crystals begin to melt (crystals will look wet) and the temperature at which the substance becomes a clear liquid. This is the melting range. The DigiMelt provided a digital readout of the temperature equipment are not calibrated and may be off as much as ±3C. Consequently, do not expect the melting points obtained with the DigiMelt apparatus to be identical to those listed in the Table shown .. Use the same DigiMelt for all your measurements.




What factors affect the melting point?

1) Any impurity in a sample will lower the melting point, even if the impurity melts at a higher temperature.
2) An impurity will cause the sample to melt over a wider range.
The factor influencing the melting point range :
3-the purity of the the substance whose melting point described .the melting point partically unaffected by changes in external pressure they do changes in presence in small amount of impurites .
4-the nature and strength of intermolcular forces are responsible for the observed differences in melting point.




Thermodynamics:



From a thermodynamics point of view, at the melting point the change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) of the material is zero, because the enthalpy (H) and the entropy (S) of the material are increasing (ΔH,ΔS > 0). Melting phenomenon happens when the Gibbs free energy of the liquid becomes lower than the solid for that material. At various pressures this happens at a specific temperature. It can also be shown that:
S=h/t
The "T","ΔS", and "ΔH" in the above are respectively the temperature at the melting point, change of entropy of melting, and the change of enthalpy of melting.


Carnelley’s Rule:


In organic chemistry Carnelley’s Rule established in 1882 by Thomas Carnelley, states that high molecular symmetry is associated with high melting point. Carnelley based his rule on examination of 15,000 chemical compounds.
For example for three structural isomers with molecular formula C5H12 the melting point increases in the series isopentane −160 °C (113 K) n-pentane −129.8 °C (143 K) and neopentane −18 °C (255 K). Likewise in xylenes and also dichlorobenzenes the melting point increases in the order meta, ortho and then para.
A high melting point results from a high heat of fusion, a low entropy of fusion, or a combination of both. In highly symmetrical molecules the crystal phase is densely packed with many efficient intermolecular interactions resulting in a higher enthalpy change on melting.


References:



^ J. A. Ramsay (1949). "A new method of freezing-point determination for small quantities". J. Exp. Biol. 26 (1): 57–64. PMID 15406812. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/26/1/57.pdf.
^ The melting point of purified water has been measured to be 0.002519 +/- 0.000002 degrees Celsius - see R. Feistel and W. Wagner (2006). "A New Equation of State for H2O Ice Ih". J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 35: 1021–1047. doi:10.1063/1.2183324.
^ The exact relationship is expressed in the Clausius-Clapeyron relation.
^ "J10 Heat: Change of aggregate state of substances through change of heat content: Change of aggregate state of substances and the equation of Clapeyron-Clausius". http://mpec.sc.mahidol.ac.th/RADOK/physmath/PHYSICS/j10.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
^ hafnium entry at Britannica.com
^ R. J. C. Brown, R. F. C. Brown (June 2000). "Melting Point and Molecular Symmetry". Journal of Chemical Education 77 (6): 724. doi:10.1021/ed077p724
7 .A.M. James and M.P. Lord in Macmillan's Chemical and Physical Data, Macmillan, London, UK, 1992.
8. G.W.C. Kaye and T.H. Laby in Tables of physical and chemical constants, Longman, London, UK, 15th edition, 1993.

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