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CLASS-XI (Chemistry)
UNIT-9 HYDROGEN

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Position of Hydrogen in the periodic table ; Hydrogen has electronic

configuration 1s1,which resembles with alkalimetals as well as with halogens.Hydrogen
therefore has resemblanceto both groups---------Properties resembles to Alkali metals

Properties resembles to halogens

1. loses one electron to form

Unipositive ion.

1.Gains one electron to form

Uninegative ion.

2. Like alkali metals it forms

2. Like halogens it forms a di-

Oxides ,halides and sulphides.

3. It is highly reactive like alkali
metals.

atomic molecule
3.Like halogens its ionization
enthalpy is high.

Inspite of the fact hydrogen resembles both with alkali metals and halogens It differs
From them as well.It is unique in behaviour and is therefore placed separately in the
periodic table.
Isotopes of Hydrogen:
Hydrogen has 3 isotopes; Protium 1H1,deuterium1H2or D(also called heavy Hydrogen) and
Tritium1H3or T.Only Tritium is radioactive and emits low energy particles.
Prepration of Hydrogen:
1. Lab prepration:

Granules of Zinc reacts with Hcl

Zn + 2 HCl ------- ZnCl2 + H2

2. By the reaction of zinc with NaOH
Zn + 2NaOH ------ Na2ZnO2 + H2
Commercial production of Hydrogen :1. By electrolysis of acidified water using platinum
electrodes to give hydrogen.
2H2 O (lq.) electrolysis -> 2 H2(g) + O2(g)

2. By electrolysis of brine solution .

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Reaction at anode2Cl (aq) ------Cl2(g) + 2eReaction at cathode- 2H2 O(lq) +2e- --- H2(g) + 2OH(aq.)
3.Hydrocarbons or carbon reacts with steam in presence of catalyst forms Hydrogen.
CH4 + H2 O -----

CO + H2O (Water gas or syngas)

PROPERTIES OF HYDROGEN : Hydrogen is a colourless , odourless and combustible gas.

It is lighter than air and insoluble in water.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES : H-H bond dissociation enthalpy is highestfor single bond .It is
Inert at room temperature.Its chemical reactions are--1. Reactions with halogens: Forrms hydrogen halides.
H2 + X2 ------2 HX( reactivity order---FClBrI)
2. Reaction with oxygen: Water is prodused ,reaction is highly exothermic.
2H2(g) + O2 ------ 2H2 O
3. Reaction with nitrogen:

- H

Ammonia is produced in presence of catalyst

3H2 + N2 ------ 2 NH3

-H

4. Reaction with metals : At high temperature corresponding hydrides are formed.

H2(g) + 2M --------2MH
5. Reaction with organic compounds : In presence of catalyst some useful products
are obtained. e.g. 1. Hydrogenation of vegetable oils using Ni as catalyst forms fats.
2. Hydroformylation of olefins to form aldehydes.
H2 + CO + RCH=CH2 ------

RCH2CH2CHO

Uses of Hydrogen : 1. Synthesis of Ammonia,nitric acid,methanol and nitrogenous

fertilizers.
2. In manufecture of vanaspati fats from vegetable oils.
3.Oxyhydrogen torches are used for cutting and welding purpose.
4. It is used as rocket fuel in space and also in fuel cells to generate electricity.

HYDRIDES : Hydrogen combines with elements exept noble gases to Form

binary compounds called hydrides which are classified into three types1. Ionic or saline hydrides 2. Covalent hydrides 3. Metallic hydrides.
IONIC HYDRIDES : Formed with metals of s block elements.They are crystalline,nonvolatile and nonconducting in solid state,however their metals conduct electricity
and liberate hydrogen gas .They react violently withwaterto form hydrogen gas.
NaI

H2O ------ NaOH + H2

Some hydrides have covalent character like LiH.BeH2

LiH is unreactive at moderate temperature with oxygen or chlorine and is used in
synthesis of other useful hydrides
8LiH + Al2Cl6 ----------- 2LiAlH4 + 6LiCl
2LiH + B2H6 --------- 2LiBH4
COVALENT HYDRIDES : Formed with most of p block elements.e.g. CH4.NH3 H2O.

Being covalent .they are volatile. These hydrides are further divided into
a. electron deficient : they have less electrons in their lewis structure,thus act as lewis
acids.i.e.electron acceptors.e.g BH3
b. electron precise:They have required number of electrons in their lewis structure.e.g
CH4.SiCl4 .
c. electron rich hydrides : They have excess electrons in their lewis structure .They behave
as lewis bases i.e.electron donars.e.g. NH3, H2O .
METALLIC HYDRIDES : These are formed by many d and f block elements.they conduct
Heat and electricity not as efficiently as their parent metal do.

WATER
Water is a crucial compound for the survival of all life forms. It is a universal solvent.
Properties: It is a colourless and odourless liquid.The unusual properties of water in
Condensed phase are due to the presence of extensive hydrogen bonding between
Water molecules.This leads to high freezing point.high boiling point .high specific

heat.thermal conductivity,surface tension and high dipole moment etc. These

properties allow water to play a key rple in biosphere.Due to hydrogen bonding it
dissolves many covalent compounds like sugar,glucose,alcohol etc.

Structure of water
In gaseous phase water is a bent molecule with a bond angle of 104.50.It is highly polar
molecule.

O
H

The crystalline form of water is ice .At atmospheric pressure ice crystallises in hexagonal
form .Density of ice is less than water ,therefore it floats on its surface .In winter season
ice formed on surface of lake provides thermal insulation which makes the life of aquatic
animals more comfortable.This fact is of great ecological significance.

Chemical properties of water

: 1. Amphoteric natureIt has the ability to act

As acid as well as base .

H2O(l) + NH3(aq) OH- (aq) +

NH4+ (aq)

H2O (l) + H2S(aq) H3O+(aq) +HS-(aq)

2. Autoprotolysis of water takes place as followes
H2O(l) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + OH- (aq)
3. Reduction--- Water can be reduced to hydrogen by highly electropositive metals.
2H2O(l) + 2Na(s) ------ 2NaOH(aq) + H2(g)
4. Oxidation Water oxidises to O2 during photosynthesis
6CO2 + 12 H2O ---- C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2
5. HydrolysisWater has avery high hydrating tendency ,it dissolves many ionic
compounds .Certain covalent compounds are hydrolysed with water.
P4O10 + 6H2O ------ 4H3PO4
SiCl4 + 2H2O ----- SiO2 + 4HCl
6. Hydrates formationFrom aq. Solutions many salts can be crystallised as hydrated
salts. e.g. [Cr(H2O)6 ]3+ 3Cl - , CuSO4.5H2O etc.

HARD AND SOFT WATER

Hard water contains calcium and magnecium salts in the form of chlorides,sulfates and
Hydrogencarbonates.It does not give lather with soap.It forms scum with soap ,thus not
Suitable for laundary.
Water free from Calcium and magnecium salts is called soft water.It gives lather with soap
very easily.
Hardness of water can be of two types--Temporary hardness is due to the presence of magnecium and calcium bicarbonate
salts ,which can be removed by --a. By boiling due to which soluble salts are converted to insoluble salts and can be
removed by filteration.
Mg(HCO3)2 ------------ Mg (OH)2 + 2CO2
2. Clarks method: Calculated amount of lime is added to hard water ,it precepitates out
salts which are removed by filteration.
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 ------ CaCO3 + 2H2O
Permanent Hardness is due to chlorides and sulfates of calcium and magnecium
Which can be removed by
1. By treating with washing soda to form insoluble carbonates.
2. by ion exchange method
3. Synthetic resin method

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (H2O2)

Prepration : Barium peroxide is first acidified then excess of water is removed by
Evaporation under reduced pressure to give hydrogen peroxide.
BaO2.8H2O(s) + H2SO4(aq.) ------ BaSO4 (s) + H2O2 (aq) + 8H2O (l)

Properties : It is almost colourless in its pure state and immiscible with water in all
Proportions and forms a hydrate H2O2.H2O. Strength of H2O2 solution is expressed in

Two ways--

1. Percent strength : It expresses the amount of H2O2 by weight present

in 100 ml. of solution e.g. 30% aq. Solution of H2O2 means that 30 gms. of H2O2 are
present in 100 ml. of the solution.
2. Volume strength : H2O2 sold in the market labelled as 10 volume ,20 volume,
30 volume etc. 10 volume actually means that 1 ml. of such a solution of H2O2 on
decomposition produces 10 ml. of oxygen at N.T.P.

Structure of H2O2
H2O2 has a nonplanar structure .two oxygen atoms are linked to each other by single
Covalent bond (peroxide bond) and each oxygen is bonded to one hydrogen by single
covalent bond.

H
O

O
H

Chemical properties : H2O2 acts as oxidising as well reducing agent in both

acidic and basic medium.
Oxidising action : (Acidic medium)
2Fe2+ (aq) + 2H+ (aq) + H2O (aq) --- 2Fe3+ (aq) + 2H2O (l)
PbS(s) + 4H2O (aq) --- PbSO4(s) + 4H2O(l)
(Basic medium)
2Fe2+ H2O2 ----- 2Fe3+ + 2OHMn2+ + H2O2---- Mn2+ + 2OHReducing action : (Acidic medium)
2MnO4 + 6H+ 5H2O2----- 2Mn2+ + 8 H2O + 5O2
HOCl + H2O2 ------ H3O+ + Cl- + O2
(Basic medium)
I2

H2O2 + I2 + 2OH- -------- 2I - + 2H2O + O2

2MnO4 + 3H2O2

--------- 2MnO2

+ 3O2 + 2H2O + 2OH-

USES OF H2O2
1. In industries it is used as bleaching agent for textiles, paper ,leather etc.
2. Used in the synthesis of certain food products and medicines.
3. In daily life it is used as a hair bleach and mild disinfectant,as antiseptic it is sold in
Market as perhydrol.
4. Nowadays it is also used in environmental i.e. green chemistry,in pollution control
treatment and sewage treatment.
HEAVY WATER (D2O)
Heavy water is extensively used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
It can be prepared by exhaustive electrolysis of water or as a by product in some
fertilizer industries.
USES OF HYDROGEN AS FUEL AND HYDROGEN ECONOMY
Hydrogen releases a large amount of heat on combustion which is more than the energy
released from petrol and also pollutants are less than petrol.It can be converted into
liquid state by cooling to 20 k.In this way Hydrogen economy is an alternative.The basic
principle of hydrogen economy is the transportation and storage of energy in the form of
liquid or gaseous hydrogen.It is for the first time in India that a pilot project using
hydrogen as fuel was launched in oct.2005 for running automobiles.5% of H 2 is mixed
in CNG for vehicles,its percentage would be gradually increased to reach the optimum
level.Nowadays it is also used in fuel cell to generate electricity.It is expected that safe
sources of hydrogen will be identified in near future.
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QUESTION BANK
1. Why does hydrogen occur in a diatomic form rather than in a monoatomic form?
2. What are the consequences of high enthalpy of HH bond in terms of its chemical
reactivity?
3. What do you understand by electron deficient,electron precise and electron rich
compounds of hydrogen?Give one example of each.
4. Among NH3,H2O and HF which one is expected to to have highest magnitude of hydrogen
bonding and why?
5. What is autopyrolysis of water and what is its significance?
6. What are lewis acids and lewis base.Give one example of each.
7. Draw structure of water and explain what properties of water makes it useful as solvent?
8. What are hydrides ?How they are classified?Write one example of each.
9. Differentiate between hydrolysis and hydration,Explain the terms with example.
10. What causes the temporary and permanent hardness of water? What methods are used to
remove this hardness?
11. Writa a reaction which shows amphoteric nature of water.
12. A 30% solution is marked as 100 vol. H2O2,what does it mean?
13. Write one chemical reaction for each to justify H2O2 can act as oxidising as well as reducing
agent.
14. What do you understand by the terms------a. Hydrogen economy b. Syngas c. Fuel cell
d. Heavy water e. Hydrogenation.
15. Arrange the following -----a. LiH,NaH, and CsH in order of their ionic character
b. H-H, D-D,and F-F in order of increasing bond enthalpy.
16. Complete the following reactions-----a. CO + H2 ---------
b. Zn + NaOH -------
c. PbS + H2O2------
d.CaO + H2O -------
e. Alcl3 + H2O-----