Hello world!
I thought I would interrupt this unplanned blog hiatus with a post about elements, which was inspired by a Twitter conversation with Dr Tom.
Which elemental form of the chemical elements have you used in the lab?
I believe my number is a lowly 10 although I am sure I have forgotten some.
Hydrogen (H), carbon (C), oxygen (O3), fluorine (F2), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), bromine (Br2), iridium (Ir), tin (Sn), iodine (I2).
Tom’s was a more impressive 12, including Samarium.
p.s I have obviously also used nitrogen and argon as inert gases in reactions and helium as a GC carrier gas but I don’t feel they count as I haven’t manipulated them into something new.
p.p.s oxygen has been added as I forgot that I have had plenty of experience with stinky ozone.
H, Li, O, Na, Mg, K, Cu, Zn, Br, I, Hg, Sm (as reagents) (so on recount 12, as I forgot about Zn before)
I reckon F2 wins though.
Oh I have used zinc too. Add one more to my list! How come you used Hg?
Made a Na amalgam. Not especially pleasant.
Hydrogen, lithium, carbon, nitrogen,* oxygen, sodium, magnesium, iron, bromine, iodine.
* Nitrogen counts because I once made the rookie error of grinding magnesium for a Grignard under nitrogen rather than argon, and inadvertently made magnesium nitride.
Are we allowing Raney nickel? +1 if so.
Technically an alloy no?
Yeah, but possibly only a few percent aluminium depending on how it’s prepared. How pure is your magnesium? 😉
I don’t really think it counts, just trying to boost my stats.
I only used 20% fluorine in nitrogen… does that count? 😉 I think so!
Yes, you can definitely have that.
Does that mean I get Pd/C too?
Right, if Derek Lowe counts Raney nickel, I’m counting it too.
As an electrochemist I can add Cu, Fe, Pt, Au, Ag, W and Ti to the likes of I, C, H, O, Li, Na, Hg (and S when I’ve spilt Hg…) and Sn.
A nice bunch there 🙂
H2, Li, O2, O3, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl2, Ni,Cu, Br2, Pd,
O3 is a good one.. hadn’t thought of that
I am waiting to see what other allotropes of P, S or C we might see.
Electrochemists may win again with this one- its possible to use diamond, graphite, graphene, nanotubes and activated carbon at least as electrode materials.
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Hmm. Hydrogen, lithium, carbon (if you count Li in graphite), nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, selenium, bromine, molybdenum, rhodium (albeit impure- I was recycling waste), palladium, silver, tin, iodine, barium, platinum, mercury, lead. I guess inorganic synthetic chemists have more fun. I’ve never used any lanthanides though.
Wow. You guys do have fun! Molybdenum. I wouldn’t even know what that looks like :-S