Chemistry and Energy
From Alternative Fuel to Blowing
Sh*t up
Inorganic Chemistry and The Periodic Table
Energy on Earth
Octane – C8H18
 2 C8H18 + 25 O2  18 H2O + 16 CO2

(unstable) (unstable)

(stable)
Release of energy
Heat
 Work (pressure-volume work)

(stable)
Pressure-Volume work
CO2 H2O CO2
O2 O2 O2
O2 O2
O2
H2O CO2 H2O
CO2H2O CO2 H2O
CO2 H2O CO
2
CH
8
8
Evidence of Pressure Volume Work
–Liquid N2
Liquid N2: Boiling point, 77K, -196 0C, -321
0F
 For reference, the coldest temperature ever
recorded was 184.0 K −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F;)
at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on
July 21, 1983.

How does it work?
It takes very little energy to vaporize liquid
N2. (0.67 cal/mol, compared to water at 9.8
cal/mol).
 The heat from the tounge instantly
vaporized liquid N2,
 protective barrier of insulating gas, which
does work on the liquid, lifting it away from
the tounge.

Octane – an organic molecule with
inorganic origins.



Octane – Where did it come from?
Fossil Fuel – Plant matter
(C6H12O6) decaying away from O2
(buried organic matter)
Where does sugar come from?
6 H2O + 6 CO2  C6H12O2 + 6 O2
(stable)

(stable)
(unstable)
(unstable)
The Energy comes from Light!
Photosystem II
Photosystem II
CO2
Electron
Transport
Chain
e+
e-
+
H+
C6H12O6
Photosystem II
CO2
Electron
Transport
Chain
e+
e-
++
H+
C6H12O6
Photosystem II
CO2
Electron
Transport
Chain
e+
e-
+ ++
H+
C6H12O6
Photosystem II
CO2
Electron
Transport
Chain
e+
H+
C6H12O6
2 H2O + hn  4 e- 4 H+ + O2
e-
+ ++ +
+ H+
HO
e-e-e-e+ H+
HO
Photosystem II-inspired solar fuel
CO2
H+
Electron
Transport
Chain
C6H12O6
2 H2O + hn  4 e- 4 H+ + O2
4 H+ + 4e-  2 H2
2 H2O + hn  2 H2 + O2
O2
H2
H+
Explosives


2 H2 + O2  H2O
Effective explosive






Solid
Unstable
Entirely converts to a gas (N2, CO2, H2O)
Releases heat
Low oxygen balance (self-contained
oxidant)
Examples:



TNT
RDX
Octanitrocubane
Octanitrocubane
Nitro groups (oxidant)
 Carbon chains-fuel (like octane)
 Zero oxygen balance: Converts entirely to
N2, CO2
 C8O16N8  8 CO2 + 4 N2

(unstable)
(stable)
(stable)
ON O
ON O
ON O
C ON O
C
C
C
ON OC
C
C
C
ON O
ON O
ON O
Inorganic explosives
How do we get to the next level?
 Introduce new atoms!

Thermite reaction

2 Al + Fe2O3  Al2O3 + 2 Fe
(unstable) (moderate)
(stable)
(moderate)
The Elements by Tom Lehrer
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium,
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.
There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.
There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.
There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium,
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.
Electrical energy from inorganics –
The Battery

PbO2 + Pb + H2SO4  2 Pb(SO4) + 2 H2O
unstable unstable

(spectator)
stable
stable
Pb4+ + Pb0  2 Pb2+
(stable)
(stable)
(unstable)
2 e-
Pb2+
Pb2+
The Hydrogen Fuel Cell

2 H2 + O2  H2O
(unstable) (unstable) (stable)
e-e-- ee
O
O
H2O
H2O
H+H++ +
HH
H H
H H