The s-block elements of the Periodic Table are those in which the

last electron enters the outermost s-orbital. As the s-orbital can

accommodate only two electrons, two groups (1 & 2) belong to
the s-block of the Periodic Table.

1
 Alkali Metals (G-IA)
 Alkali –metals are members of group IA excluding hydrogen. This
group includes the elements Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs and Fr.
• They are metallic solids with low melting points, low boiling
points, and low enthalpies of atomization.
• Are very reactive, and are readily oxidized to M+ cations.
 These are so called because they form hydroxides on reaction with
water which are strongly alkaline in nature.

 All the alkali metals have one valence electron , ns1

 The ground state electronic configuration of alkali metals is [noble

gas] ns1

2
 General Trends
 The alkali metals show regular trends in their physical and chemical
properties with the increasing atomic number.
 The atomic, physical and chemical properties of alkali metals are
discussed below:-
 Electronic Configuration
 All the alkali metals have one valence electron, ns1 outside the noble gas
core.
 The loosely held s-electron in the outermost valence shell of these
elements makes them the most electropositive metals. They readily lose
electron to give monovalent M+ ions.
 Hence they are never found in free state in nature

3
 Cont…

Atomic and Ionic Radii

 The alkali metal atoms have the largest sizes in a particular
period of the periodic table.
 With increase in atomic number, the atom becomes larger
 The monovalent ions (M+) are smaller in size than the
parent atom 4
 Cont…
 The atomic and ionic radii of alkali metals increase on moving down
the group i.e., they increase in size while going from Li to Cs
Atomic radii (nm)

5
 Ionization Energies
 The ionization Energies of the alkali metals are considerably low and decrease
down the group from Li to Cs

 This is because the effect of increasing size and the outermost electron is very well
screened by the inner shells which prevent them from the attraction to the nucleus.

 The first IE for the atoms in this group are appreciable lower than those for any
other group in the periodic table

 the second IE very large due to removal electrons from smaller positive ions and

removing electron from closed shell.

6
  Hydration Energy
 On going down a group hydration enthalpy decreases.

 (As the ions get larger, the charge density of the ions decreases,
the electrostatic attraction between ions and water molecules gets
smaller.

 So the hydration enthalpies of alkali metal ions decrease with

increase in ionic sizes

Li+> Na+> K+> Rb+> Cs+

 Li+ has maximum degree of hydration and for this reason lithium
salts are mostly hydrated, e.g., LiCl·2H2O

7
  Electronegativity
 Most atoms prefer to fulfilling the octet rule
 The energy required to gain electron is significantly higher
compared to the energy required to lose electrons for the
elements on left side
 Thus,(alkali metals) generally lose electrons in forming
bonds
 As we move down a group, electronegativity decreases due
to the atomic number increases down a group.

8
  Electropositive or Metallic character
 The electropositive character of an element is expressed in terms of
the tendency of its atom to release electrons:
 High tendency to lose e- to form positive ions.
 Highly electropositive.
 Metallic character increases down the group.

9
 Physical properties of alkali metals
 All the alkali metals are silvery white, soft and light metals.

 Because of the large size, these elements have low density which
increases down the group from Li to Cs.

 However, potassium is lighter than sodium.

 Alkali metals are only isolated by electrolysis of their molten salts.

 The melting and boiling points of the alkali metals are low indicating
weak metallic bonding due to the presence of only a single valence
electron in them.

 All alkali metals are very good conductors of heat and electricity

 The alkali metals and their salts impart characteristic colour10to an

 Cont…
 This is because the heat from the flame excites the outermost
orbital electron to a higher energy level.

 When the excited electron comes back to the ground state, there is
emission of radiation in the visible region as given below:

 Alkali metals can therefore, be detected by the respective flame

tests and can be determined by flame photometry or atomic
absorption spectroscopy.
 These elements when irradiated with light, the light energy
absorbed may be sufficient to make an atom lose electron.
11
 Chemical Properties
 the alkali metals are highly reactive due to their large size and low
ionization energy.

 The reactivity of these metals increases down the group as the

outer electron gets further from the nucleus & becomes easier to
remove.

 Some of the reactivity of Alkali metals are discussed as follows

Reactivity towards air

 The alkali metals tarnish in dry air due to the formation

of their oxides which in turn react with moisture to form
12
hydroxide.
 Cont…
 Alkali metals react with oxygen to form metal oxides

 Lithium forms monoxide, sodium forms peroxide, the other

metals form superoxides.

 The superoxide O2– ion is stable only in the presence of large

cations such as K, Rb, Cs.

 Alkali metals are normally kept in kerosene oil because of

their high reactivity towards air and water.
13
 Reactivity towards water
 The alkali metals react with water to form hydroxide and dihydrogen
 The reaction of lithium with water is less vigorous than other alkali metals
 This behavior of lithium is attributed to its small size and very high hydration energy.
2M (s) + 2H2O (l)  2 MOH (aq) + H2 (g) (M is Alkali Metal)
Reactivity towards dihydrogen
 All alkali metals react with hydrogen to form hydrides that are ionic in nature
(M+H - ).
 Reactivity of alkali metals with hydrogen increases from Li to Cs.
 Ionic character of the hydrides increases from Li to Cs.
 The decrease in ionization energy down the group permits easy availability of
electrons to hydrogen, forming H ion.
 Stability of hydrides decreases from Li to Cs because the M-H bond becomes weak
as the size of the alkali metal increases from Li to Cs.
2M (s) +H 2 (g)  2MH (s)
14
 Cont.…
Reactivity towards halogens
 Reactivity of alkali metals with halogen increases down the group because of
corresponding increase in electropositive character (decrease in ionization
energy).
 The alkali metals readily react vigorously with halogens to form ionic halides,
MX. However, lithium halides are somewhat covalent
 It is because of the high polarization capability of lithium ion
2M (s) + X2 (g)  2MX (s) (M is Alkali Metal and X is Halogens)

Solutions in liquid ammonia

• The alkali metals dissolve in liquid ammonia giving deep blue solutions which
are conducting in nature
• The blue color of the solution is due to the ammoniated electron which absorbs
energy in the visible region of light and thus imparts blue color to the solution.
15
 Compounds of Alkali Metals
• Almost all the common compounds of GIA are generally ionic in nature
• General characteristics of some of their compounds are discussed here
(i) Oxides, peroxides, superoxides,
When the group 1 metals are heated in an excess of air or in O2, the principal products
obtained depend on the metal:
– Li2O, sodium peroxide, Na2O2, and the superoxides, KO2, RbO2 and CsO2
– All the oxides are strong bases, the basicity increases from Li2O to Cs2O
– The superoxide's and peroxides contain the paramagnetic [O2] - and
diamagnetic [O2]2- ions respectively
– The oxides and the peroxides are colourless when pure, but the superoxide's
are yellow or orange in color
• These oxides are easily hydrolyzed by water to form the hydroxides according to
the following reactions

16
 Cont.…
(ii) Hydroxides:
• The alkali hydroxides are composed of an alkali metal cation and the hydroxide
anion (HO-)
• Alkali metal hydroxides are white ionic crystalline solids of formula MOH, and are
soluble in water.
• The alkali hydroxides are: LiOH, NaOH, KOH, RbOH and CsOH.
• They are all deliquescent except LiOH
• The aqueous solutions are all strongly alkaline and therefore dangerous to handle
• They neutralize acids to form salts, eg:
NaOH(aq) + HCI(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
• Alkali metal hydroxides react with CO to give metal formats (methanoates):

NaOH + CO 450K HCO2Na

• The hydroxides which are obtained by the reaction of the oxides with water are all
white crystalline solids
• The alkali metal hydroxides are the strongest of all bases and dissolve freely in
water with evolution of much heat on account of intense hydration 17
 Cont.…
(iii) Halides
 are the family of inorganic compounds with the chemical formula MX, where M is
an alkali metal and X is a halogen.
 The MX halides are prepared by direct combination of the elements or by the
reaction of the appropriate oxide, hydroxide or carbonate with aqueous hydrohalic
acid (HX)
 The alkali metal halides exist as colourless crystalline solids
 They melt at high temperature to colorless liquids
 All these halides are soluble in water.
• LiF has the highest lattice energy of the group 1 metal halides and is only
sparingly soluble
• The salts LiCl, LiBr, LiI and NaI are soluble in some oxygen-containing
organic solvents e.g. LiCl dissolves in THF and MeOH.
• Both LiI and NaI are very soluble in liquid NH3, forming complexes
[Na(NH3)4]I
18
 Cont.…
iv) Salts of Oxo-Acids
 Oxo-acids are those in which the acidic proton is on a hydroxyl group
with an oxo group attached to the same atom e.g., carbonic acid,
H2CO3(OC(OH)2 ; sulphuric acid, H2SO4(O2S(OH)2)
 The alkali metals form salts with all the oxo-acids
 They are generally soluble in water and thermally stable
 Their carbonates (M2CO3) and in most cases the hydorgen carbonates
(MHCO3) also are highly stable to heat
 As the electropositive character increases down the group, the stability of
the carbonates and hydorgencarbonates increases
 Lithium carbonate is not so stable to heat and its hydrogen carbonate
does not exist as a solid
19
 Occurrence of Group 1 elements
A. Occurrence of Lithium(Li)
• Lithium is the thiry fifth most abundant element in the earth crust by
weight and is mainly obtained as the silicate minerals i.e spodumine
LiAl(SiO3) , Lepidolite LiAl2(SiO3)3FOH)
B. Occurrence of Sodium(Na)
Sodium is the seventh abundant element by mass in the earth crust. Main
sources are NaCl (rock salt),
C. Occurrence of Potassium (K)
• It the eighth most abundant element by mass in the earth crust. Mainly
occure as deposite of KCl (sylvite) and double salt KCl.MgCl2.6H2.
Soluble K salts are collectively called Potash
D. Occurrence of Rubidium (Rb) and Cesium (Cs)
• They obtained as by produce from Lithium processing and do not
have specific sources like other alkali metals.
E. Francium (Fr)
• It does not appreciably occur in nature because it is radioactive

Extractions of Alkali Metals

• Lithium and sodium are produced industrially by electrolysis of the
molten chlorides, whereas potassium, rubidium, and cesium are
obtained by reduction of their salts with sodium.
 Cont.…
Anomalous Properties of Lithium
The anomalous behaviour of lithium is due to the : (i) exceptionally small size of its
atom and ion, and (ii) high polarising power (i.e., charge/radius ratio)
Difference with other Alkali Metals Similarities with Magnesium
• are harder and lighter than the other
• Li is much harder lighter than others elements in the respective groups.
• Its m.p. and b.p. are higher than the • react slowly with water; oxides of both
other alkali metals are less soluble in water; hydroxides of
• Li is least reactive but is the strongest both decompose on heating.
reducing agent among all the alkali • form nitrides (Li3N and Mg3N2) by
metals directly reacting with nitrogen and do
• Li forms nitride, Li3N unlike other not form superoxide.
alkali metals • On heating, carbonates of both give
• LiCl is deliquescent and crystallises as oxides and CO2; hydrogen carbonates of
a hydrate, LiCl.2H2O whereas other both do not exist as solid.
alkali metal chlorides do not form • Chlorides of both (LiCl, MgCl2) are
hydrate soluble in ethanol, deliquescent, and
crystallize as hydrates (LiCl.2H222O,
MgCl2.8H2O).
 Major uses of the alkali metals and their compounds
 Lithium is used in the manufacture of alloys, and in certain glasses and ceramics.

 Lithium carbonate is used in the treatment of manic-depressive disorders.

 Sodium– potassium alloy is used as a heat-exchange coolant in nuclear reactors.

 A major use of Na–Pb alloy was in the production of the anti-knock agent (PbEt4)

 The varied applications of compounds of Na include those in the paper, glass,

detergent, chemical and metal industries.

 Both Na and K are involved in various electrophysiological functions in higher

animals.

 Potassium is an essential plant nutrient, and K+ salts are widely used as fertilizers

23
 Cont…
Sodium Carbonate (Washing Soda), Na2CO3·10H2O
 It is used in water softening, laundering and cleaning.

 It is used in the manufacture of glass, soap, borax and caustic

soda.

 It is used in paper, paints and textile industries.

 It is an important laboratory reagent both in qualitative and

quantitative analysis.

Sodium Chloride (NaCl )

 It is used as a common salt or table salt for domestic purpose.
 It is used for the preparation of Na2O2, NaOH and Na2CO3 .
24
 Alkaline Earth Metals (GIIA)
• The alkaline earth elements are metallic elements found in the
second group of the periodic table
• The alkaline earth metals are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg),
calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra)
 These are called so because their oxides and hydroxides are
alkaline in nature and these metal oxides are found in the earth’s
crust.
 This group lies in the s-block of the periodic table due to their
outermost electron is found in an s-orbital
 All of these elements have two electrons in their outer most s-
orbital
25
 General Trends
Electronic Configuration
 These elements have two electrons in the s -orbital of the valence
shell
The general electron configuration is written as [Noble gas] ns2

26
 Atomic and Ionic Radii
• The atomic and ionic radii of the alkaline earth metals are smaller
than those of the alkali metals
• This is due to the increased nuclear charge in these elements
• The atomic and ionic radii of alkaline earth metals also increase
down the group due to progressive addition of new energy shells.

27
 Cont…
Ionization Energy
The alkaline earth metals have low ionization Energy due to fairly
large size of the atoms
 Since the atomic size increases down the group, their ionization
enthalpy decreases

 The first ionization enthalpies of the alkaline earth metals are

higher than those of alkali metals due to their smaller size than
the alkali metals

 The second ionization energy of the alkaline earth metals are

smaller than those of the corresponding alkali metals

28
 Cont…

 Have low 1st and 2nd IE.removal of the 3rd electron is much more difficult
as it involves the loss of an inner shell electron.
 IE decrease as the group is descended.
 IE of the group II is generally higher than group I.
29
 Hydration Energy
 The hydration energy of alkaline earth metal ions decrease with
increase in ionic size down the group
 Be2+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > Sr2+ > Ba2+
 The hydration energy of alkaline earth metal ions are larger than
those of alkali metal ions
 Thus, compounds of alkaline earth metals are more extensively
hydrated than those of alkali metals
 e.g., MgCl2 and CaCl2 exist as MgCl2.6H2O and CaCl2· 6H2O
Density
 Density decreases slightly up to Ca after which it increases
 The decrease in density from Be to Ca might be due to less packing
of atoms in solid lattice of M g and Ca
 The alkaline earth metals are more denser, heavier and harder
than alkali metal
30
 Melting point and Boiling point
• Melting points and boiling points of alkaline earth metals do
not show any regular trend

• The values are, however, more than alkali metals. This might
due to close packing of atoms in crystal lattice in alkaline earth
metals
Electronegativity
• The electronegativity's of alkaline earth metals are also small but are
higher than alkali metals
• Electronegativity decreases from Be to Ba as shown below

31
 Occurrence
 Beryllium occurs principally

 as the silicate mineral beryl, Be3Al2 [Si6O18]

 It is also found in precious forms include emerald and

aquamarine and Phenacite (Be2SiO4)

 Magnesium is and are the eighth and the third most abundant in the
Earth’s crust and sea, respectively and is mainly found in:

 Magnesite (MgCO3); Dolomite (CaCO3. MgCO3);

 Epsomite(MgSO4.7H2O); Carnallite (KCl.MgCl2.6H2O);

 Asbestos [CaMg3(SiO3)4]; olivine ((Mg,Fe)2SiO4)

32
 Cont…
Calcium: is fifth most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust and

is found in:

 Calcite or limestone(CaCO3); Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O),

 Anhydrite (CaSO4); Fluor apatite [(3Ca3(PO4)2.CaF2)];

Phosphorite rock [Ca3(PO4)2]

Strontium: celestite (SrSO4), strontianite (SrCO3)

Barium: Barite (BaSO4); witherite (BaCO3)

33
 Physical Properties
 The alkaline earth metals, in general, are silvery white, lustrous and
relatively soft but harder than the alkali metals

 Beryllium and magnesium appear to be somewhat greyish

 Calcium, strontium and barium impart characteristic brick red,

crimson and apple green colours respectively to the flame

 All are malleable, ductile and quite brittle metals

 The melting and boiling points of these metals are higher than the
corresponding alkali metals due to smaller sizes

34
 Chemical Properties
 The alkaline earth metals are less reactive than the alkali metals
 The reactivity of these elements increases on going down the group
 Some important reactions are:
A. Reaction with oxygen
 The elements (except Ba and Sr) burnt in air to give ionic oxides
(MO) which are crystalline in nature . However, Ba and Sr give
peroxide.
 The tendency to form higher oxides increases from Be to Sr
2M (s) + O2 (g)  2MO (s) (M is Be, Mg or Ca)
2M (s) + O2(g)  MO2 (s) (M is Ba or Sr)
B. Reaction with water
 Beryllium reacts much less readily with water—even boiling
water
 Mg metal reacts with steam or hot water
 The rest of the elements react with water with increasing vigour
even in cold to form hydroxides
M(s) + 2 H2O (ℓ) → M(OH)2(aq) + H2(g) (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) 35
 Cont.…
C. Reaction with hydrogen
• All the elements except beryllium combine with hydrogen upon heating to form
their hydrides, MH2
M(s) + H2(g) → MH2(s)
• However, BeH2, can be prepared by the reaction of BeCl2 with LiAlH4
2BeCl2 + LiAlH4 → 2BeH2 + LiCl + AlCl3

D. Reaction with halogens

• All the alkaline earth metals combine with halogen at elevated temperatures
forming their halides
M(s) + X2(g) → MX2(s) (X=F, Cl, Br and I)

E. Reaction with acids

• The alkaline earth metals readily react with acids liberating dihydrogen
• Eg., Mg(s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
• Like alkali metals, the alkaline earth metals also dissolve in liquid ammonia to give
deep blue black solutions forming ammoniated ions 36
 Compounds of Alkaline Earth Metals
Halides
• The alkaline earth metals combine directly with halogen at appropriate temperature
forming halides (MX2).
• These halides can also be prepared by the action of halogen acids (HX) on metals,
metals oxides, hydroxides and carbonates.
M + 2HX → MX2 + H2
MO + 2HX → MX2 + H2O
M (OH)2 + 2HX → MX2 + 2H2O
MCO3 + 2HX → MX2 + H2O + CO2
• The solid halides of alkiline earth metals are hygroscopic (absorbs water from the
surrounding air but does not become a liquid).
• Anhydrous MCl2, MBr2 and MI2 (M=Ca, Sr and Ba) can be prepared by
dehydration of the hydrated salts
• Except Bex2, all the other halides of group IIA are predominantly ionic
• Group IIA halides are usually found hydrated. Anhydrous CaCl2 has a strong
affinity for water, and is used as a drying agent
37
 Cont…
Oxides
• The oxides of GIIA have the general formula MO and are basic.
• They are normally prepared by heating the hydroxide or carbonate to release
carbon dioxide gas

• BeO is formed by ignition of Be or its compounds in O2.

• The oxides of the other GIIA metals are usually prepared by thermal
decomposition of the corresponding carbonate.
– MCO3→MO +CO2 M = Mg T = 813K, Ca =1173K, Sr = 1563K, Ba =
1633K

• The action of water on MgO slowly converts it to Mg(OH)2 which is sparingly

soluble

• Oxides of Ca, Sr and Ba react rapidly and exothermically with water, and absorb
CO2 from the atmosphere

38
 Cont.…
 Peroxides
• Group 2 metal peroxides, MO2, are known for M=Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba.
• Attempts to prepare BeO2 have so far failed, and there is no experimental
evidence for any beryllium peroxide compound.
• The stability with respect to the decomposition reaction increases with the size
of the M2+ ion.
MO2 → MO +1/2O2 (M =Mg; Ca; Sr; Ba)
• All the peroxides are strong oxidizing agents.
• Magnesium peroxide (used in toothpastes) is manufactured by reacting MgCO3
or MgO with H2O2.

• Calcium peroxide is prepared by cautious dehydration of CaO2.8H2O.

Ca (OH) 2 + H2O2 + 6H2O  CaO2.8H2O
• The reactions of SrO and BaO with O2 yield SrO2 and BaO2.
• Reactions of the peroxides with acids generate H2O2.
SrO2 + 2HCl  SrCl2 + H2O2

39
 Cont.…
Hydroxides
• Calcium, strontium and barium oxides react with water to form hydroxides.

• Beryllium hydroxide is amphoteric and this sets it apart from the hydroxides of
the other group 2 metals which are basic.

• In the presence of excess [OH]-, Be(OH)2 behaves as a Lewis acid, forming the
tetrahedral complex ion , but Be(OH)2 also reacts with acids.

Be(OH)2 + 2[OH]- → [Be(OH)4]2-

Be(OH)2 + H2SO4  BeSO4 + 2H2O

• The water solubilities of M(OH)2 (M=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) increase down the group,
as do their thermal stabilities with respect to decomposition into MO and H2O.

• Magnesium hydroxide acts as a weak base, whereas Ca (OH)2, Sr(OH)2 and

Ba(OH)2 are strong bases.
40
 Cont…
Carbonates and Bicarbonates
• All these metal carbonates (MCO3) and hydrgencarbonates are insoluble in
neutral medium but soluble in acidic medium
• They are obtained as white precipitates when calculated amount of CO2 is
passed through the solution of the alkaline metal hydroxides
M(OH)2 (aq) + CO2 (g)  MCO3(s) + H2O(l)
• Solubility decreases down the group as:
MgCO3> CaCO3>SrCO3> BaCO3
• They are decomposed by heat giving off CO2 and leaving an oxide. Ease of
decomposition by heat decreases down the group
MgCO3 <CaCO3<SrCO3<BaCO3 -with increasing thermal stability
• They are decomposed by acid
e.g. CaCO3 + 2H+ (aq)  2Ca 2+ (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
Sulphates
• The sulphates of GIIA metals are all white solids and stable to heat
• BeSO4 and MgSO4 are readily soluble in water; but the solubility decreases from
CaSO4 to BaSO4 41
 Extraction
• Of the group 2 metals, only Mg is manufactured on a large scale.
• Beryllium is obtained from beryl by first heating with Na2SiF6, extracting the
water-soluble BeF2 formed, and precipitating Be(OH)2.
• Beryllium is then produced by reduction of BeF2
BeF2 + Mg 1550K Be + MgF2
• For Mg, Dolomite is thermally decomposed to a mixture of MgO and CaO
• MgO is reduced by ferrosilicon in Ni vessels; Mg is removed by distillation in
vacuo
2MgO + 2CaO +FeSi 1450K 2Mg + Ca2SiO4 + Fe
• Extraction of Mg by electrolysis of fused MgCl2 is also important and is applied
to the extraction of the metal from seawater.
2HCl + Mg (OH) 2  MgCl2 + 2H2O
At the cathode: Mg2+(l) + 2e-  Mg(l)
At the anode: 2Cl-(g)  Cl2 (g) + 2e-
• The production of Ca is by electrolysis of fused CaCl2 and CaF2
• Sr and Ba are extracted by reduction of the corresponding oxides by Al, or by
electrolysis of MCl2 (M= Sr, Ba). 42
 Anomalous Properties of Beryllium
Difference with GIIA Similarity with Aluminum
• Be is lightest alkaline earth metal
 Like Al, Be is not readily attacked by
• Be possesses higher m.pt. and b.pt
acids because of the presence of an
than other group members
oxide film on the surface of the metal
• BeO is amphoteric in nature
 Be(OH)2 dissolves in excess of alkali
whereas oxides of other group
to give a beryllate ion, [Be(OH) 4] 2-
members are strong base
Just as aluminium hydroxide gives
• Beryllium halides are essentially
aluminate ion, [Al(OH) 4]-
covalent but others are ionic
 Beryllium and aluminium ions have
• Beryllium has exceptionally small
strong tendency to form complexes,
atomic and ionic sizes than others
BeF 4 2-, AlF6 3-
• The salts of Be are extensively
hydrolyzed
43
 Uses of G-2 metals and their compounds
• Beryllium is used
– in the manufacture of body parts in high-speed aircraft and missiles,
– in communication satellites
– in X-ray tube windows and in the nuclear energy industry.
• Mg/Al metal alloys are used:
– In resistance to corrosion, and improve fabrication properties.
– in aircraft and automobile body parts and lightweight tools.
• Miscellaneous uses include flares, fireworks and photographic flashlights
• Medical applications such as indigestion powders (milk of magnesia,
Mg(OH)2) and a purgative (Epsom salts,MgSO4.7H2O).

• Both Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions are catalysts for diphosphate, triphosphate
transformations in biological systems.
• Mg2+ is an essential constituent of chlorophylls in green plants
44
 Cont.…
• Calcium oxide (quicklime or lime) is used:
– as a component in building mortar
– in the steel industry, pulp and paper manufacturing, and
– extraction of Mg
• Calcium carbonate is used in steel, glass, cement and concrete manufacturing. a
constituent of chewing gum, and a filler in cosmetics.
• CaCO3 and Ca(OH) 2 are used in desulfurization processes.
• Ca(OH)2 (Slaked lime) are used to manufacture bleaching powder
(Ca(OCl)2.Ca(OH)2.CaCl2.H2O) and in water treatment.
• Strontium is used in the manufacture of faceplate glass in color television cathode-
ray tubes in order to stop X-ray emissions.
• SrO is used in enhancing television picture quality.
• Barite (BaSO4) is used as a weighting material in oil- and gas-well drilling fluids.

45
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