IChO 2024 · Theory problem 2

Electronic nose

Resistive gas sensors, especially those using semiconducting metal oxides (SMOX), are becoming increasingly popular. They can detect tiny amounts of impurities, are small and stable, and are easy to make and use. These features make SMOX sensors stand out among the many types of gas sensors that work on different physical and chemical principles.

The mixed oxide X that has the normal spinel crystal structure, \(\ce{A^{2+}B2^{3+}O4^{2-}}\), is an example of one of these SMOX materials. X can be obtained by decomposition of the crystalline hydrated metal oxalate \(\ce{ZC2O4}\cdot k\ce{H2O}\) of metal Z on air. When heated to \(140\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\), the crystalline hydrate loses 19.7% of its mass. Further heating in air leads to the formation of 2.407 g of black colored X at \(500\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\) and \(3.8\,\mathrm{dm^3}\) of carbon dioxide at 101325 Pa.

2.1 Determine the formula of X and the value of \(k\) in \(\ce{ZC2O4}\cdot k\ce{H2O}\). 4 pt

In the spinel structures oxygen atoms form a face centered cubic (FCC) lattice. In normal spinels the \(\ce{A^{2+}}\) cations occupy part of the tetrahedral, and the \(\ce{B^{3+}}\) cations occupy part of the octahedral lattice sites.

2.2 Calculate the percentage of the tetrahedral sites that is occupied in the case of a normal spinel \(\ce{A^{2+}B2^{3+}O4^{2-}}\). 2 pt

In addition to the normal spinels, the \(\ce{MM'2O4}\) general formula also describes the inverse and the mixed spinel structures. Here \(\ce{M}\) are the tetrahedrally coordinated, \(\ce{M'}\) the octahedrally coordinated cations, but contrary to normal spinels, particular cations are not restricted to a single lattice site. A characteristic of the inverse spinel structures is that the electron configuration of the \(\ce{M'}\) site cations is \(d^0\), \(d^5\) or \(d^{10}\).

2.3 Select on the answer sheet two of the given formulas, which correspond to the structure of inverse spinel: \(\ce{Fe3O4}\), \(\ce{NiFe2O4}\), \(\ce{Mn3O4}\), \(\ce{FeCr2O4}\). 1 pt

Semiconductors are materials whose orbitals contain a small excess or deficit of electrons, leading to negative or positive charges (holes), respectively. These charges can move through the semiconductor and allow it to conduct electricity. Chemical reactions can increase or decrease the charge on a semiconductor, altering its conductivity.

X is an example of a semiconductor where electricity is carried by positive charges (holes). For a resistive gas sensor based on X, the resistance \(R\) is measured over time \(t\), while passing a gas over the sensor. This allows redox reactions to occur between the gas and the semiconductor surface, which will change the resistance of the sensor depending on the donor/acceptor properties of the gas. Figure 1 shows the two different types of signal obtained this way.

Figure 1

Figure 1: plot of resistance against time for two possible signal types, (a) and (b).

Grey bars = air, white bars = air + analyte gas.

2.4 Correlate the signal type (a or b) obtained from the X based sensor with the analyte gases (\(\ce{H2S}\), \(\ce{O3}\), \(\ce{NO2}\), \(\ce{NH3}\)) during their detection at low concentrations. 2 pt

The dependence of the specific conductivity (\(\sigma\)) of X on temperature is described by the Arrhenius law: \(\sigma(T)=\sigma_0\exp(-E_a/(RT))\), where \(E_a\) is the activation energy of conductivity. Three types of conductivity can be distinguished in different temperature ranges:

Ionization (I): 444–570 K, Impurity (II): 585–765 K, and Intrinsic (III): 800–905 K.

The sketch below illustrates the conductivity-temperature relation for the three temperature ranges.

Figure 2

2.5 Based on the sketch above, order the activation energies associated with the different conductivity types, \(E_a(I)\), \(E_a(II)\), and \(E_a(III)\), from largest to smallest. 3 pt

Avogadro constant: \(N_A=6.022\cdot10^{23}\,\mathrm{mol^{-1}}\) Gas constant: \(R=8.314\,\mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}\,K^{-1}}\)
Ionic product of water at 298.15 K: \(K_w=10^{-14}\) Zero of the Celsius scale: \(0\,^\circ\mathrm{C}=273.15\,\mathrm{K}\)
Faraday constant: \(F=96485\,\mathrm{C\,mol^{-1}}\) Planck constant: \(h=6.626\cdot10^{-34}\,\mathrm{J\,s}\)
Speed of light: \(c=2.998\cdot10^8\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}\) Standard pressure: \(p^\circ=1\cdot10^5\,\mathrm{Pa}=1\,\mathrm{bar}\)
Ideal gas law: \(pV=nRT\) Beer-Lambert law: \(A=\log\left(\frac{I_0}{I}\right)=\varepsilon\cdot l\cdot c\)
Enthalpy: \(H=U+pV\) Gibbs energy: \(G=H-TS\)
\(\Delta_rG^\circ=-RT\ln K=-nFE^\circ_{\mathrm{cell}}\) Henderson-Hasselbalch equation: \(\mathrm{pH}=\mathrm{p}K_a+\log\left(\frac{[\ce{A-}]}{[\ce{HA}]}\right)\)
Arrhenius equation: \(k=A\exp\left(-\frac{E_A}{RT}\right)\) Zeroth order integrated rate law: \([\ce{A}]=[\ce{A}]_0-kt\)
Surface of a sphere: \(A=4\pi R^2\) First order integrated rate law: \(\ln[\ce{A}]=\ln[\ce{A}]_0-kt\)
Volume of a sphere: \(V=\frac{4\pi}{3}R^3\) \(\displaystyle\sum_{k=0}^{\infty}ar^k=\frac{a}{1-r}\quad\text{for }\lvert r\rvert<1\)

Periodic table

Figure 3

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 2.1: \(\boxed{X=\ce{Co3O4},\quad k=2}\). X is cobalt(II,III) oxide; the precursor is cobalt(II) oxalate dihydrate, \(\ce{CoC2O4 * 2H2O}\).
  • 2.2: \(\boxed{12.5\%}\) of the tetrahedral sites.
  • 2.3: \(\boxed{\ce{Fe3O4}\text{ and }\ce{NiFe2O4}}\): magnetite and nickel(II) ferrite.
  • 2.4: (a) ozone, \(\ce{O3}\), [O-][O+]=O, and nitrogen dioxide, \(\ce{NO2}\), [O-][N+]=O; (b) hydrogen sulfide, \(\ce{H2S}\), S, and ammonia, \(\ce{NH3}\), N.
  • 2.5: \(\boxed{E_a(\mathrm{III})>E_a(\mathrm{I})>E_a(\mathrm{II})}\).

Solution

2.1 — Identification of the oxide and hydrate

Because the precursor contains only one metal, the spinel must contain that metal in two oxidation states and have the formula \(\ce{Z3O4}\). The overall oxidation of the anhydrous oxalate in air is

\[ \ce{3ZC2O4 + 2O2 -> Z3O4 + 6CO2}. \]

Consequently,

\[ n(\ce{Z3O4})=\frac{n(\ce{CO2})}{6}. \]

Taking the gas temperature to be the stated decomposition temperature,

\[ T=500+273.15=773.15\,\mathrm{K}, \qquad V=3.8\times10^{-3}\,\mathrm{m^3}. \]

The ideal gas law gives, retaining guard digits,

\[ \begin{aligned} n(\ce{CO2}) &=\frac{pV}{RT}\\ &=\frac{(101325\,\mathrm{Pa})(3.8\times10^{-3}\,\mathrm{m^3})} {(8.314\,\mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}\,K^{-1}})(773.15\,\mathrm{K})}\\ &=0.0598999\ldots\,\mathrm{mol} \approx0.060\,\mathrm{mol}. \end{aligned} \]

Thus the metal’s molar mass is

\[ \begin{aligned} M(\ce{Z}) &=\frac{M(\ce{Z3O4})-4M(\ce{O})}{3}\\ &=\frac{1}{3}\left[ \frac{6(2.407\,\mathrm{g})}{0.0598999\ldots\,\mathrm{mol}} -4(16.00\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}) \right]\\ &\approx59\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \end{aligned} \]

This is consistent with cobalt, whose supplied molar mass is \(58.93\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\), and its black normal-spinel oxide, cobalt(II,III) oxide:

\[ \boxed{\ce{X = Co3O4}}. \]

Its molar mass is

\[ M(\ce{Co3O4})=3(58.93)+4(16.00) =240.79\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

In the normal spinel, cobalt(II) ions, \(\ce{Co^{2+}}\), [Co+2], occupy tetrahedral sites; cobalt(III) ions, \(\ce{Co^{3+}}\), [Co+3], occupy octahedral sites. The anion lattice consists of oxide ions, \(\ce{O^{2-}}\), [O-2]. These isolated-ion SMILES do not encode the extended crystal lattice or its coordination geometries.

The mass lost at \(140\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\) is the water of crystallization. Using

\[ M(\ce{CoC2O4})=58.93+2(12.01)+4(16.00) =146.95\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}} \]

and \(M(\ce{H2O})=18.016\,\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\),

\[ \frac{18.016k}{146.95+18.016k}=0.197. \]

Therefore,

\[ k=\frac{0.197(146.95)}{(1-0.197)(18.016)} =2.001\ldots, \]

so

\[ \boxed{k=2}. \]

The balanced steps are

\[ \ce{CoC2O4 * 2H2O(s) -> CoC2O4(s) + 2H2O(g)} \qquad(140\,^\circ\mathrm{C}) \]

and

\[ \ce{3CoC2O4(s) + 2O2(g) -> Co3O4(s) + 6CO2(g)} \qquad(500\,^\circ\mathrm{C}). \]

For the dihydrate, the calculated water content is

\[ \frac{2(18.016)}{146.95+2(18.016)}\times100\% =19.69\ldots\%\approx19.7\%. \]

The molecular species in these equations are water O, dioxygen O=O, and carbon dioxide O=C=O. The oxalate ion, \(\ce{C2O4^{2-}}\), has SMILES [O-]C(=O)C(=O)[O-]. A composition-only ionic SMILES for cobalt(II) oxalate dihydrate is [Co+2].[O-]C(=O)C(=O)[O-].O.O; it does not specify the solid’s coordination structure. The dioxygen SMILES does not specify its triplet ground state.

2.2 — Occupancy of tetrahedral sites

An FCC array containing \(N\) oxide ions has \(2N\) tetrahedral holes.

Each formula unit of a normal spinel contains four oxide ions, corresponding to

\[ 2\times4=8 \]

tetrahedral holes. Only its one \(\ce{A^{2+}}\) cation occupies a tetrahedral hole; the two \(\ce{B^{3+}}\) cations occupy octahedral holes.

Hence,

\[ \boxed{ \text{Tetrahedral-site occupancy} =\frac{1}{8}\times100\%=12.5\%. } \]

2.3 — Selection of inverse spinels

A normal spinel places the divalent cation on tetrahedral sites and the trivalent cations on octahedral sites. An inverse spinel instead has the distribution

\[ (\ce{B^{3+}})_{\mathrm{tet}} [\ce{A^{2+}B^{3+}}]_{\mathrm{oct}}\ce{O4}. \]

The relevant ion identities are iron(II) [Fe+2], iron(III) [Fe+3], nickel(II) [Ni+2], manganese(II) [Mn+2], manganese(III) [Mn+3], and chromium(III) [Cr+3].

Their distributions in the four candidate oxides are:

Oxide Tetrahedral cations per formula unit Octahedral cations per formula unit Type
\(\ce{Fe3O4}\), iron(II,III) oxide (magnetite) \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), \(d^5\) \(\ce{Fe^{2+}}\), \(d^6\), and \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), \(d^5\) Inverse
\(\ce{NiFe2O4}\), nickel(II) ferrite \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), \(d^5\) \(\ce{Ni^{2+}}\), \(d^8\), and \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), \(d^5\) Inverse
\(\ce{Mn3O4}\), manganese(II,III) oxide \(\ce{Mn^{2+}}\), \(d^5\) Two \(\ce{Mn^{3+}}\), each \(d^4\) Normal
\(\ce{FeCr2O4}\), iron(II) chromite \(\ce{Fe^{2+}}\), \(d^6\) Two \(\ce{Cr^{3+}}\), each \(d^3\) Normal

High-spin \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), with configuration \(d^5\), has zero crystal-field stabilization energy in either tetrahedral or octahedral coordination. The octahedral preferences of \(\ce{Fe^{2+}}\) and especially \(\ce{Ni^{2+}}\) therefore favor the inverse arrangements of the two ferrites.

For the other candidates, \(\ce{Mn^{3+}}\) and \(\ce{Cr^{3+}}\) favor octahedral coordination, supporting normal arrangements.

The two formulas to select are therefore

\[ \boxed{\ce{Fe3O4}\quad\text{and}\quad\ce{NiFe2O4}}. \]

The statement's criterion that the \(\ce{M'}\) (octahedral) cations of an inverse spinel are \(d^0\), \(d^5\) or \(d^{10}\) appears to contain a site-label error: in both selected inverse spinels the octahedral sites hold \(d^6\) \(\ce{Fe^{2+}}\) or \(d^8\) \(\ce{Ni^{2+}}\) alongside \(d^5\) \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\), while the tetrahedral sites hold only \(d^5\) \(\ce{Fe^{3+}}\).

2.4 — Gas response of the sensor

The oxide is a p-type semiconductor: its mobile charge carriers are holes.

An electron-accepting, oxidizing gas removes electrons from the semiconductor surface, increasing the hole concentration. Conductivity increases and resistance decreases, giving signal (a) during the white intervals.

An electron-donating, reducing gas supplies electrons that recombine with holes. Conductivity decreases and resistance increases, giving signal (b).

Analyte Redox behavior Effect on hole concentration Resistance during exposure Signal
Hydrogen sulfide, \(\ce{H2S}\), S Reducing; electron donor Decreases Increases b
Ozone, \(\ce{O3}\), [O-][O+]=O Oxidizing; electron acceptor Increases Decreases a
Nitrogen dioxide, \(\ce{NO2}\), [O-][N+]=O Oxidizing; electron acceptor Increases Decreases a
Ammonia, \(\ce{NH3}\), N Reducing; electron donor Decreases Increases b

The ozone and nitrogen dioxide SMILES show individual resonance representations. Both molecules are bent, and nitrogen dioxide is a radical. The surface electron transfer and resulting changes in carrier concentration are described above; molecular SMILES alone do not show them.

2.5 — Ordering the activation energies

Taking logarithms of the Arrhenius expression,

\[ \ln\sigma=\ln\sigma_0-\frac{E_a}{R}\frac{1}{T}. \]

Thus the slope of a plot of \(\ln\sigma\) against \(1/T\) is

\[ \boxed{\text{slope}=-\frac{E_a}{R}}. \]

A larger magnitude of negative slope corresponds to a larger activation energy.

Because the horizontal coordinate is \(1/T\), temperature decreases from left to right. The three segments therefore represent:

Position on the graph Temperature range Conductivity type Magnitude of slope
Left 800–905 K Intrinsic, III Largest
Middle 585–765 K Impurity, II Smallest
Right 444–570 K Ionization, I Intermediate

Hence,

\[ \boxed{E_a(\mathrm{III})>E_a(\mathrm{I})>E_a(\mathrm{II})}. \]

The solution was checked against the official solution.