#REACTIVITY TREND SERIES#

^ Standard Electrode Potentials and Temperature Coefficients in Water at 298.15 K, Steven G.Li > Cs > Rb > K > Ba > Sr > Ca > Na > La > Y > Mg > Ce > Sc > Be > Al > Ti > Mn > V > Cr > Zn > Ga > Fe > Cd > In > Tl > Co > Ni > Sn > Pb > ( H) > Sb > Bi > Cu > Po > Ru > Rh > Ag > Hg > Pd > Ir > Pt > Au ^ Periodic table poster at the Wayback Machine (archived ) by A.

#REACTIVITY TREND SERIES#

^ a b Activity series at the Wayback Machine (archived ).

^ Lim Eng Wah (2005), Longman Pocket Study Guide 'O' Level Science-Chemistry, Pearson Education, p. 190.

(2005), Science in Focus, Chemistry for GCE 'O' Level, Pearson Education, p. 172

^ France, Colin (2008), The Reactivity Series of Metals.

Reactivity (chemistry), which discusses the inconsistent way that the term 'reactivity' is used in chemistry.

This is borne out by the extraction of metallic lithium by the electrolysis of a eutectic mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride: lithium metal is formed at the cathode, not potassium. The same as the reverse order of the (gas-phase) ionization energies. Potassium > sodium > lithium > alkaline earth metals, The order of reactivity, as shown by the vigour of the reaction with water or the speed at which the metal surface tarnishes in air, appears to be Even with this proviso, the electrode potentials of lithium and sodium and gold – and hence their positions in the electrochemical series – appear anomalous. However, they are only valid for standard conditions: in particular, they only apply to reactions in aqueous solution. Standard electrode potentials offer a quantitative measure of the power of a reducing agent, rather than the qualitative considerations of other reactive series. The positions of lithium and sodium are changed on such a series. Greyed-out rows indicate values based on estimation rather than experiment. Some other elements in the middle of the 4d and 5d rows have been omitted (Zr–Tc, Hf–Os) when their simple cations are too highly charged or of rather doubtful existence. Metallicity has been defined by the ' stairstep line', so germanium and antimony have been included. Hydrogen has been included as a benchmark, although it is not a metal. In the first six periods this does not make a difference to the relative order, but in the seventh period it does, so the seventh-period elements have been excluded. However, not all sources give the same values: there are some differences between the precise values given by NIST and the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. It is mostly based on tables provided by NIST. The following list includes the metallic elements of the first six periods. The reactivity series is sometimes quoted in the strict reverse order of standard electrode potentials, when it is also known as the ' electrochemical series'. Copper and silver will react with nitric acid but because nitric acid is an oxidizing acid, the oxidizing agent is not the H + ion as in normal acids, but the NO 3 − ion.Ĭomparison with standard electrode potentials Magnesium, aluminium and zinc can react with water, but the reaction is usually very slow unless the metal samples are specially prepared to remove the surface layer of oxide which protects the rest of the metal. There is some ambiguity at the borderlines between the groups. Metals in the middle of the reactivity series, such as iron, will react with acids such as sulfuric acid (but not water at normal temperatures) to give hydrogen and a metal salt, such as iron(II) sulfate:įe (s) + H 2SO 4 (l) → FeSO 4 (aq) + H 2 (g) The most reactive metals, such as sodium, will react with cold water to produce hydrogen and the metal hydroxide:Ģ Na (s) + 2 H 2O (l) →2 NaOH (aq) + H 2 (g) There is no unique and fully consistent way to define the reactivity series, but it is common to use the three types of reaction listed below, many of which can be performed in a high-school laboratory (at least as demonstrations). become stronger reducing agents ( electron donors).require more energy (and different methods) to be isolated from their compounds.lose electrons ( oxidize) more readily to form positive ions.Going from the bottom to the top of the table the metals: May react with some strong oxidizing acids Reacts with acids very poor reaction with steam Or less commonly other alkali metals, hydrogen or calcium in the Kroll process Pyrometallurgical extraction using magnesium, In boiling water, and very vigorously with acids Reacts very slowly with cold water, but rapidly 3 Comparison with standard electrode potentialsĮlectrolysis (a.k.a.

Reactivity trend