Xenon

Discovery

• Xenon was discovered in England by Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris M. Travers, an English chemist, on July 12, 1898
• Xenon comes from the Greek word, stranger
• Xenon is pronounced as ZEE-non.
• Ramsay and Travers examined the heavier gas in a vacuum tube and saw that it emitted a beautiful blue glow

Discovery

• They categorized the new gas as inert
• However, in 1962 Neil Bartlett proved that xenon was not, in fact, inert. It could cause reactions and compounds

Properties

• Atomic number: 54
• Atomic Mass: 131.29 g.mol -1
• Density: 5.9*10-3g.cm-3 at 20°C
• Melting point: - 112 °C
• Boiling point: - 107 °C
• Electron configuration: 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6

Properties

• Isotopes: 21
• Energy of first ionization: 1170 kJ.mol^-1
• Xenon is a rare, odorless, colourless, tasteless, chamically unreactive gas.

Health

• Inhalation: This gas is classified as a simple asphyxiant. Inhalation in excessive concentrations can result in dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and death

Uses

• Xenon creates a blue or lavender glow when subjected to an electrical discharge. Lamps that use xenon illuminate better than conventional lights
• Some vehicle headlights use xenon, if you see headlights that give off a soft blue glow, they are probably made with xenon

Reactivity

• Fluorine is the ONLY ELEMENT that directly reacts with Xenon. Xenon and fluorine will react to form binary compounds
• Xenon and fluorine will react to form binary compounds

Orbital Diagram