Sulfur Has an Atomic Number of 16. How Many Covalent Bonds Can Sulfur Form?

sulfur (Southward), also spelled sulphur, nonmetallic chemical element belonging to the oxygen group (Grouping 16 [VIa] of the periodic table), one of the most reactive of the elements. Pure sulfur is a tasteless, odourless, breakable solid that is pale yellow in colour, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water. It reacts with all metals except gold and platinum, forming sulfides; it likewise forms compounds with several nonmetallic elements. Millions of tons of sulfur are produced each twelvemonth, mostly for the manufacture of sulfuric acrid, which is widely used in industry.

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  Explore boiling pots of molten sulfur at Nikko volcano virtually the Mariana Islands

  Humid pots of molten sulfur on the slope of the Nikko volcano most the Mariana Islands.

  Major funding for this trek was provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration Program and NOAA Vents Programme; video clips edited by Bill Chadwick, Oregon State University/NOAASee all videos for this commodity

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  Explore the undersea molten sulfur deposit uncovered with a remotely operated vehicle nearly the Mariana Islands.

  One arm of the Jason remotely operated vehicle breaking through the thin crust on a deposit of molten sulfur near the Mariana Islands.

  Major funding for this expedition was provided by NOAA Bounding main Exploration Program and NOAA Vents Program; video clips edited past Bill Chadwick, Oregon Country University/NOAASee all videos for this article

In cosmic abundance, sulfur ranks 9th among the elements, accounting for only one atom of every 20,000–thirty,000. Sulfur occurs in the uncombined land as well equally in combination with other elements in rocks and minerals that are widely distributed, although it is classified among the minor constituents of World's crust, in which its proportion is estimated to exist between 0.03 and 0.06 percent. On the basis of the finding that certain meteorites incorporate about 12 percent sulfur, it has been suggested that deeper layers of Earth contain a much larger proportion. Seawater contains about 0.09 percent sulfur in the form of sulfate. In hugger-mugger deposits of very pure sulfur that are present in domelike geologic structures, the sulfur is believed to have been formed by the action of bacteria upon the mineral anhydrite, in which sulfur is combined with oxygen and calcium. Deposits of sulfur in volcanic regions probably originated from gaseous hydrogen sulfide generated beneath the surface of Globe and transformed into sulfur past reaction with the oxygen in the air.

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Element Properties

atomic number	16
atomic weight	32.064
melting indicate
rhombic	112.8 °C (235 °F)
monoclinic	119 °C (246 °F)
boiling indicate	444.6 °C (832 °F)
density (at 20 °C [68 °F])
rhombic	2.07 grams/cmthree
monoclinic	1.96 grams/cm3
oxidation states	−2, +4, +6
electron configuration	1southward 22s ii2p 63s 2iiip 4

History

The history of sulfur is function of antiquity. The name itself probably plant its manner into Latin from the language of the Oscans, an aboriginal people who inhabited the region including Vesuvius, where sulfur deposits are widespread. Prehistoric humans used sulfur as a paint for cave painting; one of the first recorded instances of the art of medication is in the use of sulfur as a tonic.

The combustion of sulfur had a role in Egyptian religious ceremonials as early as 4,000 years agone. "Fire and brimstone" references in the Bible are related to sulfur, suggesting that "hell's fires" are fuelled by sulfur. The ancestry of practical and industrial uses of sulfur are credited to the Egyptians, who used sulfur dioxide for bleaching cotton wool as early as 1600 bce. Greek mythology includes sulfur chemistry: Homer tells of Odysseus' use of sulfur dioxide to fumigate a chamber in which he had slain his wife's suitors. The apply of sulfur in explosives and fire displays dates to about 500 bce in China, and flame-producing agents used in warfare (Greek fire) were prepared with sulfur in the Heart Ages. Pliny the Elder in 50 ce reported a number of individual uses of sulfur and ironically was himself killed, in all probability past sulfur fumes, at the time of the great Vesuvius eruption (79 ce). Sulfur was regarded by the alchemists as the principle of combustibility. Antoine Lavoisier recognized information technology as an element in 1777, although it was considered by some to be a compound of hydrogen and oxygen; its elemental nature was established by the French chemists Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis Thenard.

Greek fire

The crew of a Byzantine dromon, a type of light galley, spraying an enemy transport with Greek fire.

Heritage Prototype/historic period fotostock

Natural occurrence and distribution

Many of import metallic ores are compounds of sulfur, either sulfides or sulfates. Some important examples are galena (lead sulfide, PbS), blende (zinc sulfide, ZnS), pyrite (iron disulfide, FeS₂), chalcopyrite (copper iron sulfide, CuFeS_two), gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO₄∙2H_twoO) and barite (barium sulfate, BaSO_iv). The sulfide ores are valued chiefly for their metal content, although a process developed in the 18th century for making sulfuric acid utilized sulfur dioxide obtained by burning pyrite. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas comprise sulfur compounds.

Allotropy

In sulfur, allotropy arises from two sources: (ane) the dissimilar modes of bonding atoms into a single molecule and (ii) packing of polyatomic sulfur molecules into different crystalline and amorphous forms. Some xxx allotropic forms of sulfur have been reported, merely some of these probably stand for mixtures. Simply 8 of the thirty seem to exist unique; five contain rings of sulfur atoms and the others contain chains.

allotropy

Orthorhombic sulfur has a ring of eight sulfur atoms at each lattice betoken. Rhombohedral sulfur has six-membered rings.

In the rhombohedral allotrope, designated ρ-sulfur, the molecules are composed of rings of vi sulfur atoms. This form is prepared by treating sodium thiosulfate with common cold, concentrated muriatic acid, extracting the residue with toluene, and evaporating the solution to requite hexagonal crystals. ρ-sulfur is unstable, eventually reverting to orthorhombic sulfur (α-sulfur).

A second general allotropic class of sulfur is that of the eight-membered band molecules, three crystalline forms of which have been well characterized. I is the orthorhombic (frequently improperly called rhombic) grade, α-sulfur. It is stable at temperatures below 96 °C (204.8 °F). Another of the crystalline S₈ ring allotropes is the monoclinic or β-form, in which ii of the axes of the crystal are perpendicular, merely the third forms an oblique angle with the showtime ii. There are still some uncertainties concerning its construction; this modification is stable from 96 °C to the melting betoken, 118.9 °C (246 °F). A second monoclinic cyclooctasulfur allotrope is the γ-form, unstable at all temperatures, quickly transforming to α-sulfur.

An orthorhombic modification, South₁₂ band molecules, and still another unstable South₁₀ ring allotrope are reported. The latter reverts to polymeric sulfur and South_viii. At temperatures higher up 96 °C (204.viii °F), the α-allotrope changes into the β-allotrope. If enough time is allowed for this transition to occur completely, further heating causes melting to occur at 118.9 °C (246 °F); only if the α-class is heated so quickly that the transformation to β-form does not have time to occur, the α-form melts at 112.8 °C (235 °F).

Simply above its melting point, sulfur is a yellow, transparent, mobile liquid. Upon further heating, the viscosity of the liquid decreases gradually to a minimum at about 157 °C (314.six °F), merely so apace increases, reaching a maximum value at about 187 °C (368.half dozen °F); betwixt this temperature and the boiling point of 444.vi °C (832.3 °F), the viscosity decreases. The color also changes, deepening from yellow through dark red, and, finally, to black at virtually 250 °C (482 °F). The variations in both colour and viscosity are considered to effect from changes in the molecular construction. A subtract in viscosity equally temperature increases is typical of liquids, but the increase in the viscosity of sulfur above 157 °C probably is caused by rupturing of the viii-membered rings of sulfur atoms to class reactive Southward_eight units that join together in long chains containing many thousands of atoms. The liquid then assumes the high viscosity characteristic of such structures. At a sufficiently high temperature, all of the circadian molecules are broken, and the length of the chains reaches a maximum. Across that temperature, the bondage break down into small fragments. Upon vaporization, cyclic molecules (S₈ and Southward_vi) are formed again; at nearly 900 °C (1,652 °F), Southward₂ is the predominant course; finally, monatomic sulfur is formed at temperatures in a higher place i,800 °C (3,272 °F).

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Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/sulfur