The ternary compounds are all those that are made up of three different atoms or ions. They can be very diverse, from acidic or basic substances, to metallic alloys, minerals or modern materials. The three atoms can belong either to the same group of the periodic table, or they can come from arbitrary locations.
However, for the ternary compound to be produced there must be a chemical affinity between its atoms. Not all are compatible with each other, and therefore it is not possible to simply choose at random which three will integrate and define the compound or mixture (assuming the lack of covalent bonds).
For example, three letters are randomly chosen to govern a ternary compound ABC (upper image). The subscripts n, m and p indicate the stoichiometric relationships between the atoms or ions A, B and C. By varying the values of these subscripts, and the identities of the letters, an endless number of ternary compounds are obtained..
However, formula AnBmCp it will only be valid if it complies with electroneutrality; that is, the sum of their charges must be equal to zero. With this in mind, there are physical (and chemical) limitations that guide whether or not the formation of said ternary compound is possible..
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Their characteristics are not general but vary depending on their chemical nature. For example, oxo acids and bases are ternary compounds, and each one of them shares or does not share a number of representative characteristics..
Now, faced with a hypothetical compound ABC, it can be ionic, if the electronegativity differences between A, B and C are not great; or covalent, with A-B-C bonds. The latter are given in infinite examples within organic chemistry, as in the case of alcohols, phenols, ethers, carbohydrates, etc., whose formulas can be described with CnHm ORp.
Thus, the characteristics are very varied and vary greatly from one ternary compound to another. Compound CnHmORp it is said to be oxygenated; while CnHmNp, on the other hand, it is nitrogenous (it is an amine). Other compounds may be sulfur, phosphorous, fluoridated, or have a marked metallic character..
Advancing in the field of inorganic chemistry, one has the metallic bases, MnORmHp. Given the simplicity of these compounds, the use of the subscripts n, m, and p only hinders the interpretation of the formula.
For example, the base NaOH, considering such subscripts, should be written as Na1OR1H1 (which would be chaotic). Furthermore, it would be assumed that H is as cation H+, and not as it actually appears: forming part of the OH anion-. Due to the action of OH- on the skin, these bases are soapy and caustic.
Metallic bases are ionic substances, and although they consist of two ions, Mn+ and OH- (Na+ and OH- for NaOH), they are ternary compounds because they have three different atoms.
Acids, on the other hand, are covalent, and their general formula is HAO, where A is usually a non-metallic atom. However, given its ease of ionizing in water releasing hydrogens, its H ions+ corrode and injure the skin.
Like the characteristics, the nomenclature of ternary compounds is very varied. For that reason, only bases, oxoacids and oxysalts will be considered superficially..
Metallic bases are mentioned first with the word 'hydroxide' followed by the name of the metal and its valence in Roman numerals in parentheses. Thus, NaOH is sodium hydroxide (I); but since sodium has a single valence of +1, it just stays as sodium hydroxide.
El Al (OH)3, for example, it is aluminum (III) hydroxide; and Cu (OH)two, copper (II) hydroxide. Of course, everything according to the systematic nomenclature.
Oxoacids have a fairly general formula of the HAO type; but in reality, molecularly they are best described as AOH. From the A-O-H bond the H is detached+.
The traditional nomenclature is as follows: it begins with the word 'acid', followed by the name of the central atom A, preceded or preceded by their respective prefixes (hypo, per) or suffixes (bear, ico) according to whether it works with its lower or higher valences.
For example, the oxo acids of bromine are HBrO, HBrOtwo, HBrO3 and HBrO4. These are the acids: hypobromous, bromous, bromic and perbromic, respectively. Note that in all of them there are three atoms with different values for their subscripts.
Also called ternary salts, they are the most representative of ternary compounds. The only difference to mention them is that the suffixes bear and ico change to ito and ato, respectively. Likewise, H is replaced by a metallic cation, the product of an acid-base neutralization..
Continuing with bromine, your sodium oxysalts would be: NaBrO, NaBrOtwo, NaBrO3 and NaBrO4. Their names would be: hypobromite, bromite, bromate and sodium perbromate. Undoubtedly, the number of possible oxysalts greatly exceeds that of oxoacids..
Again, each type of ternary compound has its own origin or formation process. However, it is fair to mention that these can only be formed if there is sufficient affinity between the three component atoms. For example, metallic bases exist thanks to electrostatic interactions between cations and OH-.
Something similar happens with acids, which could not be formed if there were no such covalent bond A-O-H.
In response to the question, how are the main compounds described formed? The direct answer is the following:
- Metal bases are formed when metal oxides dissolve in water, or in an alkaline solution (usually provided by NaOH or ammonia).
- Oxoacids are the product of the dissolution of non-metallic oxides in water; among them, the COtwo, ClOtwo, NOTtwo, SW3, P4OR10, etc.
- And then, the oxysalts arise when the oxoacids are alkalized or neutralized with a metallic base; from it come the metal cations that supplant the H+.
Other ternary compounds are formed following a more complicated process, as occurs with certain alloys or minerals..
Finally, a series of formulas for different ternary compounds will be displayed as a list:
- Mg (OH)two
- Cr (OH)3
- KMnO4
- Na3BO3
- Cd (OH)two
- Elder brother3
- FeAsO4
- BaCrtwoOR7
- HtwoSW4
- HtwoTeO4
- HCN
- AgOH
Other less common (and even hypothetical) examples are:
- CoFeCu
- AlGaSn
- UCaPb
- BeMgOtwo
The subscripts n, m, and p were omitted to avoid complicating the formulas; although in reality, its stoichiometric coefficients (except perhaps for the BeMgOtwo), they can even have decimal values.
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