Beryllium oxide

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Beryllium oxide
Unit cell, ball and stick model of beryllium oxide
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Beryllium(II) monoxide
Systematic IUPAC name
Oxoberyllium
Other names
Beryllia, Bromellete, Thermalox, Natural bromellite, Thermalox 995.[1]
Identifiers
1304-56-9 YesY
3902801
ChEBI CHEBI:62842 N
ChemSpider 14092 YesY
EC Number 215-133-1
Jmol 3D model Interactive image
Interactive image
MeSH beryllium+oxide
PubChem 14775
RTECS number DS4025000
UN number 1566
  • InChI=1S/Be.O YesY
    Key: LTPBRCUWZOMYOC-UHFFFAOYSA-N YesY
  • InChI=1/Be.O/rBeO/c1-2
    Key: LTPBRCUWZOMYOC-SRAGPBHZAE
  • [Be]=[O]
  • [Be-]#[O+]
Properties
BeO
Molar mass 25.01 g·mol−1
Appearance Colourless, vitreous crystals
Odor Odourless
Density 3.01 g cm−3
Melting point 2,507 °C (4,545 °F; 2,780 K)
Boiling point 3,900 °C (7,050 °F; 4,170 K)
0.00002 g/100 mL
Band gap 10.6 eV
Thermal conductivity 330 W K−1 m−1
1.719
Structure
Hexagonal
P63mc
C6v
Tetragonal
Linear
Thermochemistry
25.5 J/mol K
13.73–13.81 J K−1 mol−1
–599 kJ mol−1[2]
-582 kJ/mol
Vapor pressure {{{value}}}
Related compounds
Other anions
 Beryllium telluride
Other cations
Supplementary data page
Refractive index (n),
Dielectric constant (εr), etc.
Thermodynamic
data
 Phase behaviour
solid–liquid–gas
UV, IR, NMR, MS
N verify (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Beryllium oxide (BeO), also known as beryllia, is an inorganic compound with the formula BeO. This colourless solid is a notable electrical insulator with a higher thermal conductivity than any other non-metal except diamond, and exceeds that of most metals.[3] As an amorphous solid, beryllium oxide is white. Its high melting point leads to its use as a refractory.[4] It occurs in nature as the mineral bromellite. Historically and in materials science, beryllium oxide was called glucina or glucinium oxide. Formation of BeO from beryllium and oxygen releases the highest energy per mass of reactants for any chemical reaction, close to 24 MJ/kg.[citation needed]

Preparation and chemical properties

Beryllium oxide can be prepared by calcining (roasting) beryllium carbonate, dehydrating beryllium hydroxide, or igniting metallic beryllium:

BeCO3 → BeO + CO2
Be(OH)2 → BeO + H2O
2 Be + O2 → 2 BeO

Igniting beryllium in air gives a mixture of BeO and the nitride Be3N2.[3] Unlike the oxides formed by the other group 2 elements (alkaline earth metals), beryllium oxide is amphoteric rather than basic.

Beryllium oxide formed at high temperatures (>800 °C) is inert, but dissolves easily in hot aqueous ammonium bifluoride (NH4HF2) or a solution of hot concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4).

Structure

BeO crystallizes in the hexagonal wurtzite structure, featuring tetrahedral Be2+ and O2− centres, like lonsdaleite and w-BN (both of which it is isoelectronic with). In contrast, the oxides of the larger group 2 metals, i.e., MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO, crystallize in the cubic rock salt motif with octahedral geometry about the dications and dianions.[3] At high temperature the structure transforms to a tetragonal form.[5]

In the vapour phase, beryllium oxide is present as discrete diatomic molecules. In the language of valence bond theory, these molecules can be described as adopting sp orbital hybridisation, featuring two sigma and two pi bonds. The corresponding ground state is .. (2sσ)2(2sσ*)2(2pπ)4, where both degenerate π orbitals can be considered as dative bonds from oxygen towards beryllium.[6]

Applications

High quality crystals may be grown hydrothermally, or otherwise by the Verneuil method. For the most part, beryllium oxide is produced as a white amorphous powder, sintered into larger shapes. Impurities, like carbon, can give a variety of colours to the otherwise colourless host crystals.

Sintered beryllium oxide is a very stable ceramic.[7] Beryllium oxide is used in rocket engines.

Beryllium oxide is used in many high-performance semiconductor parts for applications such as radio equipment because it has good thermal conductivity while also being a good electrical insulator. It is used as a filler in some thermal interface materials such as thermal grease.[8] Some power semiconductor devices have used beryllium oxide ceramic between the silicon chip and the metal mounting base of the package in order to achieve a lower value of thermal resistance than for a similar construction made with aluminium oxide. It is also used as a structural ceramic for high-performance microwave devices, vacuum tubes, magnetrons, and gas lasers. BeO has also been put forward as a moderator for proposed naval Marine high temperature gas cooled reactors (MGCR).

Safety

BeO is carcinogenic and may cause chronic beryllium disease. Once fired into solid form, it is safe to handle as long as it is not subjected to any machining that generates dust.[9] Beryllium oxide ceramic is not a hazardous waste under federal law in the USA.

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Günter Petzow, Fritz Aldinger, Sigurd Jönsson, Peter Welge, Vera van Kampen, Thomas Mensing, Thomas Brüning"Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a04_011.pub2
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Beryllium Oxide Safety

External links

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